My CSI Romance
by NothingButSarah
Summary: A new CSI joins the team, and its not long before she catches Greg's eye... however her ex is also in town... and he wants her back. Final chapter now up!
1. Chapter 1

Hi there, so this is my first CSI fic, and I wrote it a few years ago (with the help of my friend Jen, thanks Jen!) so its set around the end of season 5. Its nearly finished but I am having some trouble coming up with an end! But I do already have about 14 chapters done… and they are very long chapters. So please tell me what you think, constructive criticism only please.  
So anyways… I don't own CSI or any of the characters, though I do own Phoebe.  
So… enjoy!

My CSI Romance

She looked at the piece of paper in her hand as she copied the 4-digit code, opening her locker. As she did she placed the paper in her pocket, she was bound to forget it. She took her jacket off, hanging it inside, she could feel her hands shaking ever so slightly and paused_, Come on now Pheebs, you're gonna be just fine_, she reassured herself, _Your boss seems nice and there's no reason the others wont like you. _She took a deep breath, as she threw her bag in.  
"But what if they hate you…" she said aloud, suddenly feeling nervous all over again.  
"That's the first sign of madness," she jumped as she heard a voice behind her and spun around to see who was there.  
She found herself staring at a guy, who if she was honest was extremely cute. He had brownish blond hair that was in a kinda organised mess with eyes that were a dark brown colour. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump," he smiled, as he turned, opening the locker behind hers.  
"That's ok," she replied, before pausing, "Uh… what did you say?"  
"Talking to yourself… the first sign of madness," he explained.  
"Oh, right," she realised what he meant, "I think it's too late for that," she joked.  
He gave a small laugh as he closed his locker and turned to face her, "Oh, sorry, I'm Greg," he said, realising he hadn't even introduced himself.  
"Phoebe," she returned, holding out her hand, which he shook.  
"So, you're the new CSI?" he asked, as she nodded he continued, "Yeah Grissom said you were starting tonight, your level 3 right?" as he spoke he took in her appearance. She was around 5"6', slim, with dark brown hair, pulled back into a ponytail. She had deep blue eyes, and his opinion was pretty hot.  
She nodded, "Yeah." She paused for a moment before asking him, "So, uh, how long have you worked here?" she questioned, hoping to find out what it was like working there.  
"Oh, I've been here about 6 years… I used to work in the lab, but I just passed my proficiency to work out in the field a couple of months ago," he explained.  
"Congratulations,"  
"Thanks," he replied, pleased at the compliment.  
She was just about to ask him what everyone was like when a woman poked her head round the door, "Greg, break room," she said.  
"Sure Cath," he called as she headed off.  
He looked back at Phoebe, "Come on, I'm sure that means you too."  
She nodded as she followed him out the locker room, they walked down the corridor, and just before they got to the room she could only assume was the break room Greg stopped and turned to her, "Oh, and I'm sure no one will hate you," he smiled before heading into the room.

Phoebe sat in the passenger seat as Greg drove them to the crime scene, their first case of the night.

Once she'd got to the break room Grissom introduced her to everyone, before handing them each their assignments. He'd put her with himself and Greg, but asked Greg to take her as he was going to meet them there after he'd sorted something out, what it was he didn't say. The case sounded good, a cleaner over at the dessert palms hospital had found an arm and a foot in the trash while emptying the bins.  
She was sat thinking about what they might find when they got there when Greg spoke up, interrupting her thoughts.  
"So, Phoebe, where did you move from?" he asked her, trying to break the silence.  
"Oh, I just moved from Chicago," she explained, "I've been here a couple of weeks."  
"Chicago huh, what made you move to Vegas?"  
"Oh, uh, actually I moved to be with my fiancé," she explained.  
He nodded "So how long you guys been together?" he asked, while trying to glance down at her hands, he hadn't noticed an engagement ring.  
"We were together for 3 years."  
"_Were_ together?" he questioned.  
"Yeah, my first week here I caught him in bed with another woman," she replied.  
"God, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."  
"Its okay, I just wish I'd realised what he was like a few years ago."  
Greg nodded and was quiet for a moment, unsure what to say. After all he had only known her for a few hours, so didn't want to pry into her private business. "How long have you been a CSI?" he asked suddenly, changing the subject.  
Phoebe smiled to herself, "Uh, lets see, I started when I was 24, and I'm 27 now, so just over 3 years," she explained.  
"Wow, you must be pretty good if you're already a level 3," he noted.  
"Well, I've only been level 3 for about a month or so," she explained.  
Again Greg just nodded, as he pulled the car into the parking lot, "We're here," he told her, as he cut the engine.

As they headed down the corridor she could see the area taped off, with a few police officers scattered around, talking to staff.  
She noticed a man making his way toward them, he looked to be in his late 40's, a little taller then her with thinning brown hair.  
"Hi Brass," Greg greeted him, as they got to the tape, which Brass held up and she and Greg walked under.  
"Sanders," he returned, and he looked at Phoebe questioningly.  
Greg noticed this, "Oh sorry, Brass this is Phoebe Jones, she's the new CSI, transferred from Chicago," he told him, "Phoebe, this is Captain Brass."  
"Hi, nice to meet you," she smiled, "So what we got?" she asked.  
"Diego Muigell, the cleaner, emptying the bins, he dropped one of the bags on the floor and noticed an arm and a foot, called us," he said.  
"That him over there?" Greg asked, nodding his head in the direction of a young guy, stood with one of the cops.  
"Yeah," Brass replied.  
"We'll need to talk to him," Greg said, looking at Phoebe. He paused, he was used to have one of the others there who at this point would tell him what to do, but seeing as Phoebe was new, even though she was higher then him, he thought he'd best decide. "So…" he began.  
"You wanna talk to him or start processing the scene?" she cut him off.  
He smiled, he never was much for telling people what to do, "I'll go talk to the guy," he offered.  
She smiled, "Then I'll go begin over there," she nodded her head in the direction of the yellow waste bag and its spilt contents.  
"Okay," Greg said, watching her for a second before noticing Brass staring at him, "I'll uh, go talk to the cleaner," he said quickly, walking off.

Phoebe looked over the scene; there were a number of yellow clinical waste bags, one lying open, with its contents spilled out across the floor. She paused, taking some photos of the scene. The foot was lying on its side while the arm was still inside the bag. What caught her was the blood, or complete lack of blood, there was none in the bag or on the floor. She took a few more photos before pulling a pair of gloves from her pocket, kneeling down as she pulled them on.  
She took a closer look inside the bag, moving a few bits aside; there were pieces of bloody gauze, syringes, none of which were unusual in a hospital's trash. They were gonna need to take the whole lot back to the lab and see what they could find.  
"Hey," she heard Greg behind her and stood up, turning to face him, "So the cleaner says he doesn't know where that bag comes from, he just collects them all from the storage place to dispose of, Brass is gonna get a list of where these bags mighta come from, hopefully it wont be the whole hospital," he sighed.  
"Great, well we're gonna have to go through this whole lot…" she began, as they both looked over at the pile of around 20 or so large waste bags.  
"All of them?" he thought out loud.  
"Who knows what other body parts might be in there," she pointed out.

It was an hour or so later and Phoebe and Greg were stood going through the first waste bag. They'd started with the bag that had contained their foot and arm, hoping to find something that might help them figure out what had happened to their vic.  
Grissom had joined the Doc in the autopsy to see what they could find.

"Hey, Grissom said you might need a hand," came Nick's voice from the doorway.  
Both Greg and Phoebe looked up to see Nick and Sara walk into the room.  
"You can say that again," Greg sighed, as he placed another syringe into a pile of them.  
Sara and Nick pulled on some gloves, "So what have you got?" Sara asked.  
"Well, all we know at the moment is that someone cut up a body and tried to dump it," Phoebe began, "I'm thinking its someone who works in the hospital, they had to have known that these clinical waste bags get sent to the incinerator, had the cleaner not dropped this one then whoever it was could have gotten away with it."  
Sara looked across at her, "Have you got any more bags to go through?"  
"About 20," came Greg's sigh.  
"Man, this is gonna be a long night," Nick spoke up, "You still glad you took that transfer?"  
Phoebe gave a small laugh, looking up at him and smiling.  
They worked quietly for a few minutes before Sara spoke up, "So, Phoebe, is Greg looking after you?" she teased, glancing across at Greg, hoping for a reaction.  
"I've been nothing but a gentleman," he retorted.  
"You sure you know what a gentleman is Greg?" came Sara's reply as she picked up some used gloves.  
Nick laughed, glancing across at Sara as the two shared a smile.  
"Yes I do, thank you very much Sara," Greg replied.  
Phoebe looked up from the drug box she'd been looking at, although Greg didn't look like the comment had bothered him he seemed to go quiet all of a sudden.  
"Hey," she said quietly, he looked up at her, "You've been really nice to me on my first day… very gentlemanly," she told him.  
He gave her a shy smile, "Thanks."  
She just smiled before looking back down at what she was doing.

About 30 minutes later and Grissom appeared in the doorway, "How are you doing?" he asked.  
"On bag number 6," Greg replied.  
"Well, we have a name, victim was Joe Marsden, 48, got a hit through AFIS, worked as a card dealer at the Bellagio. Apparently he was a patient at Desert Palms…"  
"When?" asked Phoebe.  
"He was never discharged, went missing yesterday, a report was filed, I'm going over there to talk to them now, Phoebe, I want you to come with me, you guys carry on working here, see what you can find," he told the other three. "Doc says the limbs were severed post mortem, I've got Warrick working on what was used to sever the limbs, and bloods been sent to tox," he informed them.  
"Ok, Griss," Nick spoke up for them all.  
"See you guys later," Phoebe called as she headed out after Grissom.

Phoebe followed Grissom as she headed into the entrance to the hospital for the second time that night.  
"So how are you finding your first shift?" he asked as he held the door open for her.  
"Thanks," she smiled as she walked through the door, "Well so far I'm liking it, and this case is definitely an interesting one to start with."  
He smiled, "Well you seem to be settling in ok, how's working with Greg?"  
"Oh, yeah he's been great," she assured him.  
"Good, I know he's been here longer then you, but he's not long passed his proficiency… he's still got a lot to learn," Grissom explained.  
Phoebe nodded, "Yeah he said he used to work in the lab, but he seemed to be doing well, knew what he was doing and what to look for."  
"Good," he smiled, as they finally reached their destination.

So thats chapter one, i hope you liked it, please review... i love to know what you think of it!


	2. Chapter 2

Ok so here is chapter 2, thanks for the reviews... but i know more people arer reading then reviewing... so please review if you read... ok enough with the pleading... enjoy!

My CSI Romance Chapter 2

Phoebe looked at her watch, it was 2:30am, she and Grissom had just returned to the lab,

he'd headed off to his office, leaving her to find Greg.

She had checked around most of the lab, and asked Sara and Nick, who she'd spotted

heading out, if they'd seen him, but they didn't know where he was. Finally she spotted him in

the break room eating his way through a tub of ice cream.

"Hey, you're a hard man to find."

Greg looked up from his ice cream, smiling at her, "Sorry, I needed a break after all those

trash bags."

"You've finished going through them all?" she sounded impressed.

"Yeah, luckily Nick and Sara managed to help me finish before they got called onto another

case," he explained.

"Oh, yeah I saw them heading off… so you find anything?" she asked as she took a seat

opposite him.

"Not in the bags, but, get this, tox screen shows that the victim had pancuronium bromide in

his system," Greg explained.

"Pavulon? The muscle relaxant" she questioned.

"Yeah, and like 5 times the normal dose, I spoke to the Doc and he said at that dose its

enough to relax the respiratory and heart muscles so much that they just stop working."

"So our suspect knew what they were doing and had access to the drug…" she smiled to

herself.

Greg stared at her, "I don't know you well enough to know what that face means..."

"Wanna know what we found at the hospital?" she smiled.

"I do now," he replied.

"Turns out Joe Marsden was taken into the ER a week ago, Doc's thought he might have

meningitis, did a lumbar puncture, turns out he just had a bladder infection," she paused

taking a breath, "Anyway, doc didn't do a great job on the LB, caused some pretty bad

damage to our vic's lumbar nerves, he's been in the hospital ever since," she finished.

Greg raised his eyebrows, "So, when did he go missing?"

"Yesterday, nurse on shift say's the porter arrived, had a form to take him down for a scan, he

never came back. Cops spoke to the porter, he said he left him in the waiting area or the MRI

department," she told him.

"What about surveillance camera's?" he suggested.

She shook her head, "Believe it or not those cameras are only for show."

"What?" he sounded shocked, "They don't actually work?"

Again she shook her head, "Apparently they're too expensive, patients insurance doesn't

cover the cost."

"Man… I don't wanna ever be a patient there," he sighed.

"But wait, I have more," she smiled, seeing the slightly dejected look on his face. "The Doc

who preformed the LB, well he was just covering the ER that night, short staffed, hasn't done

one in about 20 years… our vic threatened to sue him, and put in a complaint."

"And I bet he wasn't too happy about that," Greg interjected.

She shook her head, "Nope… uh, damn it I've forgotten his name… the captain?" she asked.

"Brass?"

"Yep, that's him, he's tracking him down for us now, gonna bring him in," she explained.

"Wow, you've been busy," he smiled.

She gave a small laugh, "Yep…" for the first time she looked down at the ice cream in Greg's

hand, "Hey, isn't that my ice cream?"

He looked down at it, "No, its mine, Ben and Jerries."

"Half baked right?" He nodded, "That's what I put in there earlier."

He stopped for a minute, before a look of realisation hit him, "Oops, sorry, I got fish food for

tonight… I usually have half baked, but they were all out… sorry," he apologised.

"I guess I can let you off, seeing as its my first night and if I'm horrible you'll all hate me

forever more," she mumbled the last part to herself.

Greg laughed, "I'll get you some more for tomorrow I promise."

She grinned, "You don't have to do that."

"But I will… and seriously, what's with you thinking everyone's gonna hate you, are you a

secret bitch?" he teased. She raised her eyebrows, while trying to hold back a laugh, "Hey I

can tell you wanna laugh."

She gave a small laugh, "Ok, you got me, I really moved here cause I'm a bitch and no one in

Chicago likes me."

"Well see that wasn't too hard to admit now was it," he joked.

"Hey!" she smacked him lightly across the arm.

"Man, you really do have an affect on the ladies, one night with you and she's already hitting

ya."

They both looked up to see Warrick stood in the doorway, "So, I found out what tool our

suspect used."

----------------------------

"He's lying," Phoebe muttered under her breath. She and Greg were stood watching through

the glass as Grissom and Brass spoke to their suspect, Doctor Andrew Arlett.

He had told them that although the victim had put in a complaint it didn't worry him, as it

wouldn't get very far, claiming that the complications were normal, and he'd been advised of

the risks beforehand.

Luckily he'd given up his DNA and prints, they were still waiting on the results from tox and

prints off the syringes they'd sent from the trash bags.

"You think he done it?" Greg asked her as they watched him leave.

She turned to him, "Well, he's a surgeon, specialising in orthopaedics, Warrick told us the tool

used was an orthopaedic saw, he has access to pancuronium bromide, and knows what

would be a deadly dose…" she trailed off.

"So we need to find some evidence to back you up," they heard Grissom's voice and turned

to see him stood behind them.

"Greg, I want you to take these prints round to Jackie, see if she can get a match to any of the

syringes you recovered from the trash bags," he handed over the prints he'd just taken from

the suspect.

"I'm there," Greg returned as he took the prints, giving Phoebe a small smile before heading

out the room.

-----------------------------------------

She turned another page in the large file, rubbing her eyes as she did so. Grissom had asked

her to go through Dr Arlett's file, he'd had more then one complaint made against him in the  
past few years.

She yawned glancing at her watch, she'd only been at it for 20 minutes but it seemed like

much longer. She was humming along to the music playing through her ipod, and didn't hear

anyone enter the room.

Greg could see Phoebe sat leaning over the table, reading through some notes.

"Hey," he called as he entered the room. She didn't look round, "Phoebe?" he tried again. Still

no response, he walked right up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Hey Phoebe."

She jumped, spinning round, one hand pulling her headphones from her ears while the over

flew to her chest, "Jeese, Greg, you scared me!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," he smiled, "Didn't realise you had headphones on."

"Oh, yeah, that," she began, "I uh, find it easier to concentrate with music, I guess that

sounds kinda stupid huh."

He grinned, "Actually, not at all… what you listening to?" he found himself asking.

"Oh, uh, My Chemical Romance," she replied, as she turned the ipod off, placing it on the

table.

He nodded his head, looking impressed, "Rock chic huh, well you pass my approval."

She gave a small laugh, "Thanks… I guess," she paused staring at him for a second as if

waiting for him to say something, when he didn't she spoke up again, "So… the prints?"

"Oh, right sorry," he spoke up, remembering why it was he was there. He held out the paper

in his hand, "Of the 47 syringes we recovered only 19 of them hand any prints, I figured more

often then not people are wearing gloves right? So of the 19 that did have prints only one of

them was a match to Dr Arlett, and guess what tox found in that syringe?"

"It wasn't pancuronium bromide by any chance was it?" she smiled.

Greg returned the smile, "Ten points to the rock chic, Phoebe Jones."

--------------------------------------------

"So, what do we know?" Grissom asked, as he Phoebe, Greg and Warrick were sat found the

table in the break room.

"Well, we have a syringe recovered from the same trash bag as our vic's foot and arm that

has Dr Arlett's prints all over it, and traces of pancuronium bromide inside," Greg spoke.

"Yeah, and our suspect definitely used an orthopaedic surgical saw to slice and dice the  
body," Warrick added.

"Yeah, and Dr Arlett's an orthopaedic surgeon, meaning that he'd know exactly what tools to

use," Phoebe continued, "And get this, his file reads like journal of malpractice complaints. In

the past ten years he's had more then 30 complaints made against him, ranging from verbal

abuse to death of patients," she explained.

"And he's still working?" Greg sounded surprised.

She nodded her head, "Yeah, every time he's gotten off on a technicality, someone out

there's sweeping it all under the carpet… but this is where is gets interesting, 4 months ago

the chief exec of the hospital retired… the new one has already threatened to fire him if there

are any more complaints made against him." She informed them.

"And guess who's up for retirement in a few months?" came Brass's voice from the doorway.

They all looked up at him, "Let me guess, if he's fired he'll miss out on his retirement

cheque?" Phoebe asked.

"35 years loyal service to desert palms, it's a pretty hefty pay off," Brass confirmed.

"But there's still one thing that doesn't make any sense to me," Warrick began, "If he did it,

then how did he get rid of the rest of the body?"

"Well, maybe he separated the pieces, putting them in different bags," Greg suggested.

"But then how did he mange to get rid of them all on his own… and why leave the one

behind?" Phoebe thought aloud.

"Unless he had help," Grissom interjected.

"Someone out there didn't tell us the whole truth," Brass added.

"Right, Warrick, Phoebe, I want you back at the hospital, talking to anyone working that

worked that night as well as staff that work with Doctor Arlett, everyone from secretaries to

nurses, to the canteen staff, find out all you can on this guy." Grissom told them.

"Sure thing Griss," said Warrick, as he and Phoebe stood up, heading out the room.

"Jim, can you get the porter in here, find out if he's hiding anything, take Greg with you"

"I'll go get him in now," Brass said heading out the room.

Greg stood up, "You think we'll get anything more from him?"

"Maybe, he was the last one to see our vic alive," Grissom reminded him.

Greg nodded his head before he too headed out the room.

Grissom paused, looking around the empty room, before standing up and leaving the break

room.

--------------------------------------------

6.30am, she looked up from her watch. They'd spoken to everyone who possibly worked with

Dr Arlett, including the anaesthetist who had been working with him in surgery for the past

week, who had confirmed that Dr Arlett used pancuronium bromide during his surgery, but it

was his job as the anaesthetist to administer it, and Dr Arlett had never done it, which meant

he had no reason for his prints to be on that syringe.

They were in the process of looking through the OR that was used by Dr Arlett. They didn't

expect to find anything, everything was cleaned and sterilised, so any evidence that their vic

had been there had been cleaned away. Still it was worth a shot.

Warrick was stood looking at the operating table, looking for any signs, anything that had

been missed. He heard the door from the anaesthetic room open and looked up to see

Phoebe enter, holding a book in her hands. "What you find?" he asked.

"This is the controlled drugs book, they keep a log of all the drugs that are used, on which

patient, and how much is left after shift, guess what they're missing?"

Warrick headed over, looking in the open page of the book she held, "5 vials of pancuronium

bromide, missing 2 nights ago," he read out loud, "We gotta get a photo of that."

She held the page open for him, as he took a photo of the page. They both heard the door

open and looked up to see a security guard stood in the doorway.

"Are you meant to be in here?" he asked.

Warrick stepped forwards, holding out his card from around his neck, "Warrick brown, Phoebe

Jones, were with the crime lab," he explained.

"Has this got something to do with that missing patient?" the guy asked.

"You know anything about that?" Phoebe questioned.

"No… but I did see something I thought was a little unusual a few nights ago…"

----------------------------------------------------

"So you broke him huh?" she teased.

Greg smiled, "Well, what can I say, he just crumbled under the pressure."

"So Brass hit him hard," Warrick spoke up, knowing how it really went.

"Sure, give Brass all the credit," Greg complained.

Phoebe gave a small laugh, "So what did he say?"

"Well, he told us that Dr Arlett was the one who told him to take Joe Marsden up to the MRI

department, which he questioned, seeing as it was about 10pm, so I guess Dr Arlett was

desperate, as him paid him $100 not to ask any questions," Greg explained.

"$100? That's all it took to take some poor guy to his death," Phoebe interrupted.

"Well, he said he was broke and needed the money, so when a couple of hours later Dr Arlett

offered him another 100 to help dispose of some waste bags he took him up on the offer, he

claims he never knew what was in them," Greg continued.

"And he backed up our guy's story that they were interrupted by the security guard?" Warrick

questioned.

Greg nodded, "Yeah, said they were almost done when he asked them what they were

doing."

"Good work guys," came Grissom's voice, as he appeared behind them all.

"I'm going with Brass to talk to our Dr now," he told them, turning to head down the corridor,

he stopped and turned back, "Oh and Phoebe, stick around, I wanted to talk to you before

you leave," he added.

"Sure thing," she nodded, watching his retreating figure as he headed down the corridor. For

what seemed like the millionth time that morning she looked at her watch, it was gone 10:30,

the shift ended well over 2 hours ago. She gave a small sigh.

"He probably just wants to make sure your first shift went ok, don't worry about it," Warrick

spoke up, hearing the sigh.

"Huh… oh yeah, sure, thanks," she smiled, though that hadn't been what the sigh was for.

"Well, I'm off, I'll see you guys tonight," Warrick called, as he headed out the room.

"Bye," Phoebe and Greg said simultaneously.

Greg looked over at Phoebe, "So, how was your first shift?"

"Better then I expected… I think I'm gonna be okay here," she smiled.

"Me too," he replied, as he stood up, "Well I guess I'll head home… I'll see you tonight right?"

"Of course."

"Right, well bye then," he said, pausing once more before turning and heading out the room.

Phoebe watched him leave before sighing to herself once more, she slouched down in the

chair, hoping to stay awake before Grissom returned.

-------------------------------------------------------

It was well over an hour later before Grissom returned to the lab, he found Phoebe where

he'd left her, half asleep. He led her into his office, shutting the door behind him as she sat

down.

"So, what did the Doc say?" Phoebe questioned.

"He tried to maintain his innocence," he began.

Phoebe nodded, "How about when you showed him all our evidence, and the porter's

statement?"

"Even a hare will bite when it is cornered," he told her.

She smiled, "So he confessed."

"Near enough, and we had enough evidence to charge him," he replied, after a pause he

spoke again, "So, I really kept you here to find out how your first shift was."

"It's been pretty good… actually, if I'm honest a lot better then I expected," she told him.

"Well, I have to say, I'm impressed with the way you work, and I think you'll fit into the team

well," Grissom assured her.

She gave him a small smile, "Thank you, and I hope so, I really enjoyed working with

everyone here, I think I can make it work."

"Well, you should get home and get some sleep, no doubt it'll be another busy shift tonight,"

he told her.

She stood up, "Ok, well I guess I'll see you in a few hours," she smiled, as she headed toward

the door. She opened it and paused before turning back to Grissom, "Oh, I just wanted to say

thank you, y'know for taking me on," she told him.

He gave her a small smile, "Phoebe I only take on people I think are good enough for my

team, and your work tonight proved that I made the right decision."

She paused, unsure what to say, instead she just gave him a smile, heading out the door.

--------------------------------------------------

As she pulled her car into the parking lot of the hotel she cut the engine. She sighed as she

stared out the windscreen toward the building that had been her home, ever since she'd

caught Chris with that other woman. She'd stuck around long enough to throw all her clothes

into some bags and leave.

Grabbing her bag from the passenger seat she got out the car, making her way towards the

building, giving the doorman a small smile as he opened the door for her.

As she made her way up to her floor she listened to all the noise around her and groaned,

how was she ever gonna get to sleep.

Once in her room she threw her bag down onto the bed, kicking off her shoes. She pulled her

cell phone from her pocket, before she went to sleep there was one call she had to make.

Dialling the numbers she put the phone to her ear, waiting for an answer.

"Hi, this is Phoebe Jones, I'm just calling to say I wont be able to look at those apartments

today like we scheduled… okay thanks, I'll call back tomorrow, bye," she finished, closing the

phone and tossing it aside. Normally she would have a shower before she went to sleep, but

seeing that it was already midday she knew she only had about 4 hours before she would

have to get up again. She slowly stood up, stripping off before pulling on a vest top and

shorts. She tossed her old clothes aside, she'd get them later, and pulled herself into bed.

Closing her eyes she could feel the tears welling up once again. Every night she'd been in

this room she would cry herself to sleep, and she may have managed to pull off being the

strong independent type on her first shift in her new job, but the reality was she was still

feeling broken and betrayed by what had happened.

----------------------------------

Ok, there it is.... and again please review... new chapter up soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks shalaboo for your reviews, I really appreciate them  but I just want to ask if anyone else is reading then please review… the main reason I put my story on here is to see what other people think of it… so please, it only takes a minute. Anyways… for shalaboo I will keep updating. (Oh and sorry for the delay in updating, was gonna put this chapter up sunday but have not been able to login, not sure if everyone had this problem... but anyway, here it is.)

Chapter 3

It was a couple of nights later, Phoebe was out with Nick and Warrick, they'd been sent to a

DB in a house, neighbour called it in.

Warrick had driven, and as the three arrived they headed out toward the house, Phoebe

walking behind the two men.

"Hey Nick, look who we got on house watch," Warrick commented.

"Oh man, Officer Jerk Off," Nick muttered under his breath.

Phoebe looked up and stopped groaning inwardly, why of all the cops in the city did he have

to be at her crime scene. She slowed her steps down considerably.

As they got closer to the house the Officer in question held the tape up for them, "Hi there

Officer Jerk Off," Nick smiled, he heard Warrick's low laugh as the Officer spoke up.

"Its Officer Merkoff," he corrected.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I mispronounce it _again_?" Nick asked, hiding a smirk.

The Officer was about to react when Phoebe walked past them quickly, her eyes on the

ground, "Hey Phoebe," he called after her, but she didn't stop or even look at him.

Warrick and nick exchanged a look, how did he know Phoebe.

_____________________

Once in the house they were greeted by Detective O'Reily. The DB was in the kitchen, single

GSW to the chest. Phoebe took the body while Nick looked round the rest of the house and

Warrick outside. After about an hour or so they were done collecting their evidence and ready

to head back to the lab. Phoebe headed out first with every intention of getting straight into

the car, completely ignoring her ex.

Unfortunately he had other plans, as he spotted her walking down the path towards the car he

called out her name chasing after her, "Hey Phoebe, will you please stop," he grabbed her

arm, giving her no choice but to stop.

She turned to look at him, "What do you want Chris?"

"We need to talk," he tried, as he let go of her arm.

"About what? How you were screwing around behind me back? How you played me for a  
fool?" she was trying to keep her voice down but still managed to sound angry.

"I'm sorry, you know I never meant to hurt you…"

"Well it's too late for that," she cut him off.

"Honey please…"

"I am _not_ your honey," she spat back, turning to walk towards the car. He grabbed her arm

again and she tried to pull it away, however this time he wouldn't let go as his grip tightened,

"Let go Chris" she tried.

"Hey, everything ok here?" Warrick asked, as he and Nick appeared behind them.

Chris finally let go of her arm, "Fine," he said shortly, not happy with the interference.

"Phoebe?" Nick asked.

She looked up at him and Warrick, "Yeah… I'm fine," she assured them, before heading

toward the car, Nick and Warrick watched as she placed her kit in the trunk before getting

back into the front passenger seat. They could both see through the window as she rubbed

her eyes before resting her head in her hands.

The exchanged a glance before looking at Officer Merkoff, "What?" he asked, before walking

away.

"What was that all about?" Warrick questioned.

"Who knows man," Nick shook his head as the two headed to the car.

As they climbed in the car Phoebe knew they would ask her about what had just happened.

They were silent for a moment before Nick spoke up from the back seat, "So… you know that

guy?"

"Unfortunately… yeah I do… but I'm fine, honestly," she added, before either of them had the

chance to ask.  
Warrick and Nick didn't say anymore, it was clearly not something she wanted to talk about.

_____________________________

Back at the lab Phoebe dropped her evidence off where it needed it to be, before heading

toward the break room. She was still a little shaken up, that had been the first time she'd seen

Chris since she walked out on him.

She grabbed her tub of ice-cream and a spoon before slouching down on one of the chairs.

She could see her hand was shaking slightly and put the ice-cream down on the table in front

of her. She sat forward resting her elbows on her knees, head in hands. She took a couple of

deep breaths trying to calm herself down, she couldn't let him get to her, especially not while

she was working.

"Everything ok?" Greg's voice interrupted her thoughts, making her sit up.

She looked over at him, and could see he was concerned, which made her smile, "Hey

Greg… I'm ok."

"You sure?" he pressed, as he headed toward the counter, pouring himself some coffee from

the pot.

"Yeah… just…" she started but stopped, "Nothing, don't worry bout it," she told him, placing a

smile on her lips.

"Hey, Phoebe, I know you don't really know me that well, but I'm a good listener… if you want

to talk about it," he assured her, as he stood leaning against the counter.

She smiled at him looking down at her hands for a second before looking back up. Why

shouldn't she tell him, after all she had no friends in Vegas, no one else to open up to, and

Greg seemed… well he was a sweet guy and he seemed to want to listen. She sighed before

saying, "It's just that… well I saw Chris today, y'know, my ex, for the first time since I left… it

was just a little hard I guess."

"Did you talk to him?" he asked, moving himself into the seat beside her.

She nodded, "Yeah… he didn't really give me much choice," she said quietly, subconsciously

rubbing her arm.

Greg noticed this, "What do you mean, did he hurt you?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that… he just grabbed my arm is all, Nick and Warrick were there

anyway so… he just said he wanted to talk, some crap about how he never meant to hurt

me…" she trailed off, she could feel tears trying to break out, but blinked them back.

"Hey," he hesitated for a moment before rubbing her arm slightly, "Y'know he's probably just

kicking himself cause he realises he's just lost something great," he said softly.

She looked down, slightly embarrassed, but flattered at the same time, "Thanks Greg… its

just weird … for years I thought he was this great guy… but I guess he never really was, I just

feel so stupid y'know?"

"You're not stupid, it's not always easy to know these things are going on, especially when

he's in Vegas and you're in Chicago," he pointed out.

She sighed, "I know… still… god I don't know…" she buried her head in her hands, she could

feel the tears burning at the back of her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of Greg, or

anyone for that matter, she tried to hold them back, "Uh, I'm just gonna uh be in the

bathroom," she said, standing rather abruptly.

"Ok," he said, seeing she was almost crying, he watched her almost jog down the corridor.

Sighing to himself he sat back hard in the chair, he just couldn't understand some guys, they

had great girlfriends, and they go and ruin it all by cheating on them.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a phone begin to ring, looking down he saw that it

wasn't his. He sat up, looking around, noticing Phoebe jacket on the chair beside his. He

reached over but stopped what if it was a private call, should he really go through her things

to answer it. Before he had a chance to decide the ringing stopped.

He shrugged, and spotting Phoebe had left her ice-cream on the table stood up to put in away

for her before it melted.

As he went to pick up his coffee mug the phone began to ring again, deciding it could be

Grissom or someone from work he looked in her pocket, pulling out the phone. The number

flashing on the screen was not one he recognised, but he opened the phone, answering the

call, "Phoebe Jones phone," he spoke.

"Hi, is Phoebe there?" came a females voice down the phone.

"Uh, she's not here right now," Greg explained, "Can I take a message?"

"Please, can you tell her Megan called, I've found some more apartments for her to view, if

she could call me and arrange a time?"

"Sure I'll pass that on," he promised.

"Okay, thank you," the woman said, before hanging up the phone.

Greg closed the phone, placing it back in her pocket. He frowned to himself, if she didn't have

an apartment, then where was she staying.

"Hey Greg!" he heard Sara call from down the corridor, he looked out and saw her mentioning

for him to join her. He'd have to remember to talk to Phoebe later.

_____________________________

Phoebe was sat on the toilet seat, the cubical door locked. She had managed to hold back

the tears till she'd got there. She just felt so ridiculous, hiding in the cubical at work, crying

over her stupid ex. After sitting there for ten minutes she opened the door and slowly walked

toward the basins. Looking at herself in the mirror she frowned, turning on the cold tap,

splashing her face with water, the last thing she wanted was everyone knowing she'd been

crying. With one last look at herself she turned and headed back out to the lab.

__________________________

It was a little while later and Phoebe was sat in the evidence room, going over the vic's

clothes. She heard a noise in the doorway and turned to see Nick stood there, "Hey," she

smiled at him before turning back to what she was doing.

"You find anything interesting?" he asked, as he appeared beside her.

"Not really, the direction of the blood from his wound travels down, see here," she pointed it

out, "And continues down onto his pants," she turned the shirt over, pointing to the exit

wound, "And there's no shoring here, so looks like he fell where he was standing… but

there's not a lot else on here," she told him.

"Well, I just spoke to Bobby in ballistics, the bullet recovered from our vic's chest, he got a hit

through IBIS, was used in a domestic disturbance 7 months ago, no charges were made, but

we got a name and an address," he explained.

She grinned, "I like it when they make it easy for us."

Nick laughed, "Wanna head over there with me now?" he asked.

"Sounds great," she replied. He watched as she placed the clothes back in the evidence bag,

as he did he noticed for the first time that her eyes looked quite red, almost like she'd been

crying.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be,"

"Your eyes look kinda red," he explained.

"Oh, that," she began, subconsciously rubbing a hand over her eyes, "Just tired is all," she

lied.

Nick nodded, seeming to accept the explanation, "Ok… well let's go talk to this guy."

_________________________

Greg was stood with Sara in his old lab, as Mia handed him the DNA results he'd been

waiting on, "The blood found on your suspects hands is a match to you vic," Mia informed

them, as Greg scanned over the paper.

"So we got him," Sara smiled.

Greg however was distracted, he spotted Phoebe and Nick walking past, they looked like they

were on their way out. He pushed the paper into Sara's hands, "Hang on," he said, stepping

out into the corridor, "Hey Phoebe!" he called.

She stopped and turned to look at him, she said something to Nick, before turning and

heading his way.

"Hey Greg… sorry about running off earlier," she apologised.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a wave of his hand, "I just wanted to let you know that

while you were gone your phone rang, I hope you don't mind but I answered it," he looked

slightly sheepish.

"That's ok," she assured him, "Who was it?"

"Megan… said to give her a call about looking round some apartments," he explained.

She nodded, hoping he would leave it at that, "Thanks, I'll give her a call," she turned to head

out when he stopped her.

"Uh Phoebe?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't mean to intrude but, well if you don't have an apartment, where are you staying?" he

questioned.

"Oh… uh, just in a uh hotel," she said quietly, looking slightly embarrassed.

"How long have you been there?" he sounded surprised.

"A couple of weeks… since I left Chris." He nodded, understanding, She continued, "It's just,

its kinda hard to find the time to find an apartment, and I don't know the town that well yet, its

hard to know where's a good place to live and where's not…" she trailed off.

"I can help you look" he offered.

She looked up at him, surprised, "You would do that?"

"Of course," he smiled.

"That would be great, thanks… look I'd better go Nicks waiting, I'll uh, talk to you later," she

smiled, turning to walk away.

"Sure," he called out after her, smiling to himself, before turning back toward the DNA lab,

where Sara and Mia had stood watching him.

"Someone had better warn her," Sara teased.

"What?" Greg asked innocently, taking the paper back from her hands before walking out the

room.

__________________________________

It was time to go home, Phoebe pulled her locker door open, she'd finally managed to

remember the combination. She pulled her Jacket out, stifling a yawn.

"You finished?" Greg's voice came from behind her.

She turned and smiled at him, "Yeah, first time I've actually finished on time," she said as she

pulled her jacket on.

"Not often that happens huh," he replied, opening his own locker.

"You off too?" she asked, noticing he too was pulling his jacket from his own locker.

He nodded, "Yep, escaping while I can." She gave a small laugh, as she reached in, pulling

her bag out before banging the door shut.

"Oh, I looked at the rota, we both have Friday off," he explained, "Y'know, if you still wanted

help apartment hunting."

"Only if you're sure you don't mind wasting your day off traipsing round Vegas with me."

"I wouldn't have offered if I did," Greg reminded her, as he too banged his locker door shut.

They began walking out the locker room, continuing their conversation, "Thanks, I've been

going kinda mad doing it by myself," she confessed.

"Now we can go mad together," he ginned.

She rolled her eyes laughing, "Not really what I had in mind."

* * *

So now there you have it, and you've met her ex… so let me know what you think… more coming soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Trust me when I say you don't wanna live here," Greg said, as they walked into the kitchen.  
"But its the nicest place we've seen all day," Phoebe pointed out.  
"You ever wonder why a place this big is going so cheap?" She shook her head, "Ok," he began, turning her round, "See that wall, nice new paint right… its cause there's some guys brain matter splattered underneath."  
She sighed, "Greg, is there _anywhere_ on this list that's not an old crime scene?" she asked, holding the piece of paper up.  
He took it from her hands, scanning over the list, "Nope… nope…" he muttered to himself, "That ones not… oh wait… no, sorry it is… okay, there are 5 on there that aren't.. well not that I know of," he told her, handing back the list.  
She looked down, there were only 10 on the list in the first place, and they'd already been to 4, "Okay, well we won't go to those ones, agreed?"  
"Agreed," he nodded.

"Well, this is defiantly a great neighbourhood," Greg assured her, as he pulled his car into the parking lot of the apartment complex.  
"Was that sarcastic?" she questioned, unbuckling her seatbelt.  
"No… maybe a little exaggerated…" he began as he opened the door.  
Phoebe got out the passenger side, and closed the door, walking towards the entrance, "But I wouldn't be going to tons of crime scenes at my neighbours?"  
He laughed, "No, seriously… I live in this neighbourhood, it's a good one," he assured her.  
"You live round here?"  
He nodded, "Bout 3 blocks that way," he pointed.  
She smiled, as the two headed in to greet the landlord.

20 minutes later they were stood in the living room, "What do you think?" Phoebe asked Greg.  
"Well, I really like it, but I'm not the one that would be living here… what do you think?"  
"I think… its perfect," she smiled, "I just wanted to see what you thought first."  
He gave a small laugh, "Well, I really do like it," he promised.  
She looked down at the paper in her hands, the price was within her range, and it was close to the lab, and best of all, it was available now, so she could move in straight away.  
"So, are you interested?" the landlord asked.  
She looked at Greg, "It's up to you," he reminded her.  
She turned to the landlord, "When can I move in?" she smiled.

"Man I can't wait to move in!" Phoebe sounded excited, "Get out of that damn hotel room."  
"Yeah, I can imagine it's not the greatest place to stay," Greg returned as he pulled out his keys, listening to the beep as he opened the car.  
"Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving," she said as they approached the door, she paused, looking across at Greg over the car, "Oh that is if you want to… I mean, if you're not busy," she blushed a little, slightly embarrassed.  
He smiled at her, "Sure that sounds like a plan."

"Thanks for today," Phoebe told Greg, as the waiter placed their food in front of them. They were sat opposite each other in a diner not far from the apartment.  
"I'm glad I could help," he smiled.  
"Well, you helped me finally find somewhere to live, so it was more then helpful," she assured him.  
"Well, we couldn't have you living in a hotel room for much longer," he reminded her.  
She nodded her head, "You can say that again."

As they ate they sat talking, and after a while the conversation turned to work. "So," Phoebe began, "What made you want to move out the lab?"  
"Oh, I guess I just needed a change of scene… I mean don't get me wrong I loved working in the lab, but I just felt like my world was so small in there, I remember helping Grissom on a case once, I got to go out in the field for the first time and I just remember feeling like out there was big y'know," he explained.  
She nodded, "I know what you mean," she took a sip from her drink, "Its like you get to see the whole picture when you go out there."  
"Exactly," he nodded.  
"So, were you a science buff at school?" she smiled.  
He gave a small laugh, "Yeah… actually, my parents started me at school a year early," he confessed.  
She raised her eyebrows "Wow, I'm impressed."  
"Really?" he asked, "Most people tell me I must be some sort of super geek," he admitted.  
"They're probably just jealous of you because you're more intelligent then them," she grinned.  
"That why you didn't say it huh?" he joked.  
She blushed, "I'm not that intelligent," he raised his eyebrows as if to reply but she cut him off, "So your not from Vegas right?" she asked.  
He smirked, "Good cover up."  
Phoebe looked at him, as she too raised an eyebrow, "You're not from Vegas right?" she asked more forcefully.  
He gave a small laugh to himself, before finally answering her question "Nope," he shook his head, "Santa Gabrial, California," he told her.  
"Really? I went to school in California," Phoebe said.  
"That's a long way from Chicago," he noted, taking a sip of his drink.  
"Yeah, I know, but I felt like the move would do me good, and I needed some sunshine," she joked, "Besides, Stanford was one of the best places I looked at." At this comment Greg almost choked on his drink.  
"You went to Stanford?" he questioned.  
She looked at him slightly confused by his outburst, "Uh, yeah… why?"  
"_I_ went to Stanford," he explained.  
"What! Really?" she exclaimed.  
"Yeah," he nodded, "Man that's just crazy, I mean of all the schools in the country," he said.  
"I know, how weird, you a frat boy or a dorm guy?" she asked.  
"I was a frat boy," he said proudly, "Phi Beta Kappa."  
"I was a Delta Gamma girl," she told him.  
He raised his eyebrows, "Really?" he asked, with a knowing smile.  
"Hey, what's that look for?"  
"Oh nothing… I just dated a few Delta Gammas in my time… they had a bit of a reputation…"  
"Wait that was before my time" she tried.  
He laughed, "That _was_ you time,"  
"Well, I uh…" she tried to protest, but could tell from the look on his face that he would never buy it, "I was a good girl at college," she tried.  
"That what you used to tell your parents?" he teased. She opened her mouth, but closed it again. Greg laughed, "Don't even try to deny it."  
"Ok… I'll admit I had fun at college, but it's not like I slept around."  
"Sure you didn't, you just partied and drunk like the rest of us," she nodded, "And probably had a lot of group sex," he continued.  
"Hey," she began, smacking him playfully on the arm, "Don't you dare be going spreading rumours about me Greg Sanders!"  
"I wouldn't… even if it was true," he smiled playfully.  
"Hey, I'll have you know I was still a virgin when I left college," she found herself confessing.  
He smiled, "I believe you, thousands wouldn't, but I do."  
She gave a small laugh and was about to say something when the sound of a phone ringing interrupted. She knew it wasn't hers as her ring was different, and watched as Greg pulled his phone from his pocket, he looked at the screen frowning slightly, before looking over at Phoebe, "Sorry," he said, giving her an apologetic look, before answering the phone.  
"Hello… uh hi… actually, I can't make it, sorry… yeah maybe…ok sure… bye," he finished, closing his phone, slipping it back in his pocket.  
"I'm not keeping you from something am I?" she asked, hoping she hadn't ruined plans by going to lunch.  
"Oh, no… just a uh friend, wanted to meet up," he said.  
"Well if you wanted to go I wouldn't mind," she told him.  
He smiled, "Nah, I'd rather stay here."  
She smiled, feeling herself blush ever so slightly, "Uh, thank you."

It was a few days later and Phoebe had just arrived at work, she'd had to go over to the storage space where she had been keeping all her furniture to sort out some stuff about the move and was an hour late, but knowing she was going to be late she'd spoken to Grissom and he'd assured her it was ok.  
As she arrived she'd found Grissom who'd told her she was working with Greg, Nick and Warrick, who he'd last seen in the evidence room, which is where she was headed now.

Greg, Warrick and Nick were stood round the table in the evidence room going over the evidence they'd recovered from their scene, a shooting at a club leaving 5 dead. As they were going though the various items the conversation began to drift from the evidence.  
"Hey, Greg… what happened with that girl, what was her name?" Nick began.  
"Claire," Warrick cut in.  
"Yeah, that was it, didn't you say you were gonna see her on your day off?" Nick questioned.  
Greg looked up from the bottle he'd been looking at, "Oh… um, yeah, I cancelled it," he said quietly.  
"Why man?" Nick was surprised.  
"Yeah, she was fine," Warrick added.  
Greg just shrugged in response, not looking at them, "Are we missing something?" Nick continued, glancing at Warrick.  
"Maybe I'm just not interested anymore," Greg muttered, still not looking up from what he was doing.  
"Is this the same guy that last week was dying to tell us how damn hot this chic was," Warrick spoke up.  
Nick glanced back at Greg before a sly smile came across his face, "This hasn't got anything to do with the new chic has it?"  
At this comment Greg looked up, "What… no…"  
Warrick laughed, "Hey man, I think you're right."  
"Aww, Greggo got a case of the Phoebe Jeebies," Nick teased.  
"Listen guys, she's a nice girl, but I don't know her that well, I mean she only started last week," he tried.  
"Nah man, Nicks right, you definitely got the Phoebe Jeebies," Warrick mocked, taking Nicks phrase.  
"Whatever guys," he mumbled.  
The two guys laughed, but stopped as soon as they spotted Phoebe head into the room. She stopped in the doorway, noticing the hush that taken over as soon as she'd arrived, "So, you guys talking bout the new girl?" she only half joked.  
"Oh, no," Nick smiled, "We were just talking about… Grissom…" he lied.  
She frowned, "Uh, ok…" she began, as she stepped in the room, she glanced at Greg, who was staring intently at what he was doing and noticed he looked slightly flushed. "Uh, I just saw him, he said I'm with you guys," she explained.  
"Cool, we got a lot of evidence to go through," Warrick told her.  
"Ok," she nodded, sitting down.  
Nick gave her the details of the case and what they'd found at the scene, once he'd explained she began to go over the stuff with them, she noticed Greg hadn't said anything to her since she'd arrived.  
"Hey Greg," she smiled.  
"Hi Pheebs," he returned.  
She couldn't help but notice he'd called her Pheebs and smiled to herself, it was a nickname all her friends and family used and it was nice to hear someone else use it, "Oh, I got some good news," she told him.  
He looked up, "Yeah?"  
"Yeah, I spoke to the landlord, and I had to sort some stuff out with the movers and that tonight… but I can move in tomorrow," she grinned.  
"Hey that's cool," he replied, retuning the smile.  
"I know, I can't wait."

"Ok, so I've taken the substance you guys recovered over to Hodges, as well as the shirt with the discolouration…" Phoebe began, as she entered the evidence room, where the guys were now processing their evidence for prints," And is it just me," she continued, "or does Hodges really not like me?"  
The guys all laughed, "Its not just you," began Nick.  
"Yeah, he doesn't like anyone," Warrick continued.  
"Oh, ok, well I guess that makes me feel slightly better," she reasoned.  
"Hey," they heard a voice from the doorway, and all looked up, "Officer Jerk off, what are _you_ doing here?" Nick asked rudely.  
"Its Merkoff," he corrected again.  
This time round Nick just grinned, "I know."  
Warrick laughed, Phoebe was staring at him angrily, he looked at her, before looking across at Greg, "Sanders… so it's true, they let you out the lab?" he questioned.  
Greg looked at him, he, like the others didn't like this guy, he was always a complete jerk at crime scenes and had always delighted in calling Greg as many science geeky names he could think of when he saw him, "Yeah," he replied shortly.  
"Well I guess they got fed up of you in the lab, Mr know it all science freak."  
"Hey man, back off," Nick spoke up before Greg had the chance to.  
"Chris shut up, you wanna talk to me then fine, stop being such a jerk," Phoebe spoke to him for the first time, as she walked past him out into the corridor, hoping he would follow. He gave the guys one last smug look before following her.  
"Oh my god," Greg spoke up once he'd gone, "_That's _Chris?"  
"How the hell does Phoebe know him?" Warrick questioned.  
Greg looked across to the two guys, "He's Phoebe's ex," he explained.  
"What?" Warrick and Nick questioned simultaneously.  
"Phoebe dated him?" Warrick was amazed that a guy like him could ever get a girl like her.  
"Not just dated, they were engaged," Greg told them.  
"My god you can't be serious." Nick muttered shaking his head unbelievingly.

"Chris what are you doing?" Phoebe was angry, "This is where I work! You can't just come round to talk to me!"  
"Well what else am I meant to do, you changed your phone number, I don't know where you're staying," he pressed.  
"There's a reason for that Chris," she replied.  
"Come on Phoebe, I told you I'm sorry, can't we at least talk this over," he tried.  
"How many times do I need to tell you I don't want to talk, we're over, end of story,"  
"But Phoebe… I miss you," he told her quietly.  
"Miss me! You should have thought of that before you started screwing around behind my back… and I know it's been going on the whole time I was in Chicago!" she cursed.  
"How do you… did that bitch talk to you, did she tell you that?" he shot back.  
She shook her head slowly, "No Chris… you just did," she sighed, now knowing that what she thought, had been true all along.  
He sighed, annoyed that she'd caught him out, "Listen…"  
"No, you listen" she cut him off, "You need to realise that it doesn't matter what you say or what you do, there's no way I'm ever gonna forgive you," she turned to walk away, but stopped briefly, turning back to him, "And don't come here again," she finished, before finally walking away, heading back into the evidence room.

As she walked back in the room she could see the guys had been watching her, "You ok Pheebs?" Greg was the first to ask.  
She smiled at him, "I'm fine… thanks, I uh, I'm really sorry about him, he never used to be such an asshole, I just… I'm sorry," she finished, looking down at the ground briefly, before looking back up at the guys.  
"Hey, don't worry about it," Warrick spoke up.  
"Yeah, it's not your fault," Nick added, "we've all dated some psycho's in the past right," he joked.  
She gave a small laugh, "Thanks guys."  
"Hey I got a match," Greg spoke up, looking up from the computer screen to the others, "The print from the broken wine bottle… belongs to Steve Masters…"  
"Wait, isn't that the owner?" Nick question.  
"Yeah, who said he never goes to the club," Warrick added.  
"Then how did his print get on that bottle," Phoebe spoke up.  
"Exactly," Warrick said.  
"I'll go call Brass," Nick said, heading out the room.

Warrick and Greg had gone with Brass to talk to Steve Masters while Nick and Phoebe had headed to ballistics, where Bobby had paged Nick.  
"Hey Bobby," Nick greeted as he headed into the lab.  
"Hi Nick… Phoebe," Bobby smiled at the two.  
"Hey," Phoebe replied.  
"So what have you got for us?" Nick questioned.  
"Well I can tell you all your bullets are full metal jackets, coated primarily with teflon," he told them.  
"Cop killer," Nick nodded quietly.  
"Yeah, gotta mean business with that type of ammunition," Phoebe added.  
Bobby nodded "and they come from a .44 magnum handgun," he finished.  
"What about markings?" Phoebe asked.  
"Well, the striations are a lot harder to see on the full metal jacket then say the softer lead bullets, but I got enough to tell you these bullets all came from the same gun," Bobby explained.  
"So we're looking for one guy," Nick spoke.  
"Any hits through IBIS?" Phoebe asked hopefully.  
"Nope, sorry guys," he shook his head.  
"Ok, thanks Bobby," Nick smiled, as he and Phoebe headed out the lab.  
"Bye," she called before leaving.

"Looks like we're pulling another double guys," Nick said, as he looked down at his watch.  
The case was keeping them busy, once Warrick and Greg had spoken to the club owner they'd managed to get a warrant to search his home. Nick had gone over there with Warrick while Phoebe and Greg had returned to the scene to look through his office.  
By the time they'd all returned to the lab it was nearing 10am, and they still had to process the new evidence they'd recovered.

It was 1pm by the time the four of them were stood in the locker room, "Man, I can't believe we gotta be back here in a few hours," Nick complained, pulling a clean shirt from his locker.  
"I know, it feels like I'm never home," Warrick added, as he slammed his locker shut, "I'll see you guys tonight," he told them, as he headed out. They called their goodbyes, and shortly after Nick too left, leaving Phoebe alone with Greg.  
She yawned, the last thing she felt like doing was having to move herself into her apartment.  
"Hey, you still gonna move into the apartment today?" Greg asked her, remembering she'd told him she was meant to be.  
She nodded, stifling another yawn, "Yeah… sucks, but gotta be done."  
"You working tonight?" he asked.  
Another nod, "Uh huh,"  
"When are you gonna sleep?" he questioned.  
She shrugged, "I probably won't, but I have to get moved in today," she told him, as she grabbed her bag from out her locker closing the door.  
Greg stared at her, "Pheebs…"  
"I'll be fine… I've pulled in longer shifts before…"  
"But…" he began, but could tell that it wouldn't matter what he said, "You want a hand?"  
She gave a small smile, "Thank you Greg… but I can't let you do that, you should go home and get some sleep."  
"I don't mind," he continued.  
"And I believe you… but I can't let you spend your few hours off helping me," she replied. Greg looked down, slightly deflated, Phoebe sighed, "Man you don't give in do you… Ok, if you really want to," she gave in.  
He broke out into a broad smile, "See that wasn't that hard was it."  
She rolled her eyes, "Whatever," she muttered as the two headed out the room.


	5. Chapter 5

thank you for reading, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 5

It didn't feel like anytime at all before they were back at work. With Greg's help they had managed to move all of her things from the hotel to the apartment. The movers had moved all the furniture and boxes from the storage space, so it was just a matter of putting them in the right place.  
Phoebe arrived at the lab, and after throwing her things in her locker headed into the break room. She found Sara, Catherine, Nick and Warrick.  
"Hey guys," she smiled heading over to the refrigerator, grabbing a can of soda.  
There was a chorus of hellos from the others as she sat herself down beside Catherine.  
"You ok?" she asked Phoebe, noticing she looked pretty beat.  
"Oh, sure, I'm just tired, didn't get any sleep," she finished with a yawn.  
"Hey," they all looked up to see Greg in the doorway.  
"Man you look like hell," Nick joked.  
"Thanks Nick," Greg muttered as he headed toward the counter to pour himself some coffee, "I didn't get any sleep," he informed them.  
"You either," Catherine spoke up. Nick and Warrick shared a look, "What are you two smirking for?" Catherine asked.  
"Yeah, you both have that look," Sara added.  
"Oh, its nothing," Warrick said.  
"Yeah," Nick smiled.  
Greg looked at the two before shaking his head, taking a large gulp of coffee. Phoebe smiled at him, "Hey, thanks again for today," she smiled, feeling bad that he was obviously very tired.  
"Its no problem," he yawned.  
The others in the room all looked at each other, raising their eyebrows, wandering what it was that went on between them. Before anyone had a chance to comment Grissom walked in the room.  
"Hey Griss," Greg was the first to speak up.  
"I hope everyone's well rested, we got a busy night," he told them. Phoebe and Greg glanced at each other, sharing a look.  
"Cath, I want you with Warrick, DB over at the college," he told them.  
"Man, another dead kid?" Warrick asked.  
"Sorry Warrick, I don't pick the cases we're given," he told him, handing the slip to Catherine, as the two headed out.  
"Sara, you and Phoebe have got a DB over at Crest Falls funeral home," he said.  
"A DB in a funeral home…" Phoebe began, glancing at Sara.  
"He wasn't dead when he got there," Grissom added.  
The two women nodded, both standing up, "We're there," Sara called, grabbing the slip from Grissom's hand as they headed out.

The two walked down the corridor, "You driving?" Phoebe asked Sara.  
"Sure," Sara replied, "You still not know you're way round huh?"  
"I'm getting there, but it's probably safer for you to drive, if I did I'm not sure where we'd end up," she joked.

In the car on the way to their scene Phoebe found herself slightly uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't like Sara, but she'd not really worked with her, and hadn't spent any time alone with her, so wasn't really sure what to say.  
Sara glanced across at her, "So," she began, breaking the silence, "You and Greg seem to be getting on pretty well," she found herself saying.  
Phoebe looked across at her, "Yeah, he's a really sweet guy," she said.  
"So you hang out outside of work?" Sara prodded.  
Phoebe paused, she couldn't tell what it was in Sara's voice, it almost sounded like jealousy, but she brushed it aside, "Oh, uh, yeah, he helped me find a new apartment, and move in," she explained, "Y'know, it helped having someone that knows this town, so he offered," she continued.  
Sara nodded, "Yeah, he's a good guy… don't tell him I told you that though," she added with a small laugh.

Once they arrived at the funeral home they were met by Detective Vega. Their DB was a 29 year old Michael Rodgers. He was the embalmer, the owner had arrived to find him lying on the floor, next to the table with the dead guy he'd been in the process of embalming. The small pool of blood at his head had caused him to call the cops.  
Sara began to take photos of the scene while Phoebe spoke to the owner, trying to get some more information from him. Once she was satisfied she'd got all she could she began to look round the perimeters while Sara took the body.  
They were there for almost 2 hours collecting evidence before heading back to the lab.

Greg could see Phoebe and Sara walking down the corridor, heading in his direction. He could see they were laughing and wandered what they were talking about. As he got closer he heard Phoebe,  
"Just bend over and take it like a man," she put on a deep male voice. Both Sara and her began laughing once more.  
Greg stopped and stared at them, wandering what the hell they were talking about.  
"Uh, hey Greg," Sara smiled, she glanced across at Phoebe, both realised what he must have heard and burst out laughing all over again.  
He shook his head, "Y'know, I'm not even gonna ask," he muttered, which just caused more amusement.  
"Hey Greg," Phoebe managed to spit out between her giggles.  
"See you later," Sara continued as they carried on down the corridor.  
Greg stood staring after them, "Man, I don't get woman," he muttered to himself before he turned and headed back down the corridor.

Greg walked into the IT room with a slight frown, Nick was sat at one of the computers and looked up, "Hey G, what's up?"  
"Huh," Greg looked over at him, "Oh, uh nothing," he replied, looking at the screen to see what Nick was working on.  
"Ok," Nick said, turning back to the screen.  
After a few seconds Greg spoke up again, "Since when did Phoebe and Sara become best friends?"  
Nick tried to hide a smile, looking up at him, "You saw them laughing too huh?"  
"Yeah… I mean, they've not even worked together before tonight… I just don't get it… I don't get _them_," he complained.  
"You mean you don't get women," Nick interpreted.  
"Yeah," Greg nodded, "It's like they have their own special way of communicating with each other."  
"Greg let me give you some advice, when you stop trying to get them it's a lot easier… I mean I started dating when I was 15 and I _still_ don't understand them," Nick told him.  
Greg sighed, and hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "Nick… If I say something can you promise me it won't go any further?"  
Nick looked up at the younger man, "Sure…"  
Greg looked down at him, taking a breath, before asking, "You think Phoebe would wanna go out with me?" he asked quietly.  
Nick tried to hide his smirk but Greg caught it, "Y'know I knew I shouldn't…"  
"I'm sorry," Nick cut him off, "Listen… just be careful, she just split up with her fiancé right?" Greg nodded, "So just give it time…"  
Greg nodded again, "But… you think she would?" he asked again.  
Nick smiled, "You won't know unless you ask."

It was nearing 5am, Greg was extremely tired; he hadn't had a break all shift. He headed into the break room, humming to himself as he did so.  
"Shh," he heard and looked over spotting Sara sat on one of the comfy chairs.  
He gave her a questioning look, wandering why she was shushing him, she pointed down to where he could now see Phoebe laying across two of the chairs, asleep.  
"How long she been asleep?" he asked in a hushed voice, as he moved to the counter, pouring himself a cup of coffee, draining the last of the pot.  
"Not long… I thought I'd at least give her some time… sounds like she's had it kinda tough recently," she told him.  
Greg stood leaning against the counter, "Yeah, she has… so you two getting along well."  
Sara smiled, "Yeah, she's pretty cool."  
Greg nodded, "Uh huh."  
"You're not jealous are you Greg?" Sara teased.  
"No," he scoffed.  
Sara gave a quiet laugh, "You so are!"  
"Sara, why would I be jealous that you and Phoebe are getting on well," he tried.  
"Cause you want to be to be her new best friend,"  
"Whatever," Greg muttered, taking another sip of his coffee.  
Sara laughed aloud, which caused Phoebe to stir, "Way to go Sar," he mocked.  
She just glared at him, looking down at Phoebe, who was rubbing her eyes. She opened her eyes, and looked up from Sara to Greg, "Oh man, did I fall asleep?" she asked, sitting up.  
"Yeah," Sara smiled at her.  
"Sorry," she yawned, "How long I been out?"  
"Not long, don't worry about it," Sara assured her.  
Phoebe looked over at Greg, "I think I could do with some of that," she looked at the cup in his hand.  
"Here," he handed her his cup, remembering he'd finished the pot.  
"Oh… its ok, I don't wanna steal your drink," she returned, stifling another yawn.  
He gave her a small laugh, "I think you need it more than I do,"  
"Thanks," she smiled, taking the cup from him, as Greg turned round to brew another pot.  
"So where are you guys on the case?" he questioned.  
"Actually we're done," Sara said.  
"Already?" Greg was surprised, "How did you manage that?"  
"Autopsy showed cod was a massive MI," Phoebe explained.  
"Yeah, head trauma was due to the fall," Sara finished.  
"Man, you guys got the easiest case of the night," he complained.  
"Phoebe, Sara," Grissom appeared at the doorway.  
"Hey Grissom," Sara said, looking over at him.  
"You wrapped up your case…"  
"Yeah, guy died of an MI," Phoebe confirmed.  
"Ok, Sara, I want you with me… Phoebe, Warrick and Catharine need your help," he told her.  
"Sure," she nodded.  
"Sara, we need to go talk to our suspect," he told her.  
She stood up, "Lets go… see you guys later," she called to Phoebe and Greg, as she followed Grissom out the room.  
"I'd better go find Catherine and Warrick," she said, draining her coffee before slowly pulling herself up. She stretched her arms and legs yawning once more.  
Greg laughed, "You want another cup to take with you?" he asked, pointing to the freshly brewed coffee.  
"Actually, that's a great idea," she smiled at him.

Phoebe had been in her apartment now a little over a week, and half of her things were still in boxes, but it was still so much better than being in the hotel. She was still tried, finding herself getting home from work, spending a few hours unpacking, sleeping for a few, getting up and spending some more unpacking again. Though she was making sure to get enough sleep that she didn't fall asleep at work again.

She was happy to find she was working with Nick and Greg again that shift.  
Their case was a female victim, 31 year old Becky Halliwell, cod was asphyxia due to strangulation. The nail scrapings they'd recovered from their victim gave them a hit through CODIS, a Marc Hamilton, the security guard at her apartment complex.  
Once they'd questioned him he'd admitted he'd been in her apartment, but claimed that he hadn't killed her. He told them it was his colleague, Nigel Brookman, claiming he'd only helped him dispose of the body, which had been found in the woods behind the complex.  
"I mean its impossible to move a dead weight like that by yourself, right?" he'd said.  
They didn't believe him, and were trying to disprove his story.

"So if we can prove that he could move the body by himself then we're closer to getting him," Phoebe spoke up.  
"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Greg asked, "I mean its not like we can go get Becky's body to carry her around to prove he's lying."  
"No, but we can improvise," Nick said, glancing across at Phoebe.  
She caught this, "Nick, are you suggesting what I think you are?"  
"Well Phoebe you're roughly the same build as our vic, and you're the one who said if we can prove he could move the body by himself…" he trailed off.  
She sighed, "Sure, ok… so, evidence tells us she was on the floor when he killed her, so he would need to pick her up from the floor and then carry her out the apartment, down the corridor, which was what about 25 feet, then out to the woods."  
"Ok, but surely the hardest part would be picking her up, I mean she was a dead weight right," Greg pointed out.  
"Yeah, so Phoebe, if you would," Nick pointed down at the floor.  
"Man, the things I do for the sake of my career," she muttered, sitting down on the floor.  
"So… Greg, you're the same stature as Hamilton, see if you can pick Phoebe up," Nick instructed. Greg looked over at Nick, "Please," Nick added.  
"Ok," Greg said slowly, walking over to where Phoebe was lying on the floor.  
"Ok, remember, you cant help, you're dead," Nick reminded her.  
She nodded, lying herself down, looking up at Greg as he stood over her, "You drop me and I'll kill you," she warned.  
"Dead bodies can't talk," Greg told her.  
She rolled her eyes, "Whatever."  
Nick laughed, "Ok Greg," he prompted.  
"Well… he would have to get right down on the floor to pick her up," he began as he knelt down beside Phoebe, he stared down at her, trying to figure out the best way to do it, after a moment he moved round so he was in front of her, "Ok, so I figure the best way would be…" He began, pulling Phoebe forward so she was sat up. Then holding her in this position he leant his shoulder into her, placing her over his shoulder, with one arm on her back he slowly stood up, wobbling slightly as he did.  
"Greg I swear you drop me…" she began.  
"Less noise from the corpse," he cut her off.  
Nick smothered his laugh, as he watched Greg stand into an upright position with Phoebe hanging over his shoulder.  
"Ok, so he could definitely have picked her up alone," Nick said.  
Greg nodded, "Yeah, that was easier then I expected," he admitted.  
"Uh… guys… can I get down now," they heard Phoebe's voice.  
"Oh, sorry," Greg began, bending down slightly, placing his hands on her waist as her feet touched the floor. As he stood up right his hands remained on her waist.  
She smiled up at him, "Thanks for not dropping me,"  
As Nick stood watching the two, he could see there was an obvious attraction on both sides, he cleared his throat, causing Greg to remove his hands and Phoebe to take a step back.  
"So… uh, we know that he could pick her up…" Phoebe repeated.  
"Having fun?" Phoebe heard the all too familiar voice coming from the doorway.  
They all looked over to see Chris stood there, "What are you doing here?" Nick asked, "We're working."  
"Is that what you guys call it?" he asked sarcastically.  
Greg glanced over at Phoebe, she looked angry and kinda upset, all at the same time.  
She sighed, looking back at Nick and Greg before taking a few steps toward Chris, "What do you want?"  
"I just want to talk," he told her.  
"Fine," she gave in. She turned round, "Listen guys… I wont be a minute," she promised them, before grabbing Chris's arm and pulling him out into the corridor. The first empty room she spotted was the conference room and pulled him in after her, shutting the door.  
"Phoebe…" he began, but she cut him off.  
"I thought I told you not to come back here," she reminded him.  
"I'm not just gonna give up on us Pheebs… what we had was too good for that," he tried, taking a step closer to her.  
She immediately took a step back, and found herself meeting the wall, "Chris… how many times do I have to tell you, there is no _us_ anymore."  
"Baby come on, I'm sorry, I told you, I never wanted to hurt you… I was stupid and I know that now… cant we at least give it another go?" he asked quietly, taking another step toward her.  
With no where else to go she found herself face to face with him, "Chris, please," she said softly.  
She felt his hand on her cheek and moved her head away, she was so confused, she knew she didn't want to be with him anymore, but part of her had missed him… the old him at least.  
"Come on… we were so good together, we cant just throw that away," he tried, leaning his body in towards her.  
At this she pulled back, "No Chris, you can't do this anymore, its over, we're over!" She slapped his hand away and tried to walk past him.  
He grabbed her arm, holding it tightly, "No we're not… you can't just walk away from me," he sounded angry.  
Phoebe looked towards the glass windows that were the walls of the room, she could see everyone out in the lab, but no one seemed to be looking her way. She tried to pull free from his grasp, but he only tightened his grip, "Chris, you're hurting me," she tried.  
He pushed her back toward the wall, "I wont let you throw this away," he threatened, holding her arms either side of her.  
"What the hell are you doing?" Sara yelled as she pushed open the door to the room.  
Chris immediately let go of Phoebe, stepping back, "We're just talking," he said innocently.  
Sara stepped in between the two, "It looked like more then that to me," she continued, her voice still raised.  
"Stay out of this Sidle," Chris told her.  
"Don't threaten me… guys like you make me sick," Sara pushed him.  
"Sara," Phoebe spoke up, finding her voice.  
"Hey!" Chris pushed back.  
"Guys," Phoebe stepped forward.  
"What's going on in here?" all the noise had attracted the attention of Grissom.  
"I'll tell you what's going on, this moron had Phoebe pinned up against the wall," Sara explained.  
"Hey, watch who your calling a moron!" Chris stepped forward.  
"Hey!" Grissom began, stepping in between Chris and the two women, putting a hand up to stop Chris. He turned and could see Sara was angry and Phoebe looked upset, "Phoebe?" he asked.  
"I'm fine," she said quietly.  
He turned back to Chris, "Leave, and I don't want you coming here harassing my staff," he said firmly.  
Chris took one look back at Phoebe, before turning and storming out the room.  
Once he'd left he turned back to look at the two, "I'm sorry…" Sara began, looking from Grissom to Phoebe. Phoebe gave her a small smile,  
"Thanks," she said quietly.  
"Sara, go get a drink… cool down," he instructed.  
She nodded before leaving the room, leaving Phoebe alone with Grissom. He motioned for her to take a seat, which she did, looking down at the floor, she couldn't help but feel like she was in trouble.  
Grissom sat down also, turning his chair to face her, "So, you want to tell me what that was all about?" he asked gently.  
She looked up at him, "Grissom, I'm sorry… that huh, that was Chris, he's my ex fiancé…" she explained.  
"And he came here to talk to you?"  
She nodded, "Yeah… I kinda walked out on him when I caught him cheating on me, he wants to talk about it… but I don't…"  
Grissom nodded slowly, taking his glasses off as he rubbed the bridge of nose, Phoebe looked at him, "Grissom, I just want to apologise, I mean he was never like that… before he wasn't… I just…" she looked down shaking her head.  
"Phoebe, I'm your supervisor, and if you need to talk then I want you to know my doors always open,"  
She gave him a small smile, "Thank you… I just don't understand, he was always so good to me… and recently its just like… he keeps turning up at my crime scenes, at work…. I don't know what to do," she admitted.  
"He's in homicide right?" Grissom questioned. She nodded in reply, "Well I'll speak to Brass…"  
She cut him off, "But I don't want him to know I've said anything," she sounded worried.  
"It won't get to that," he assured her.  
She nodded, "Ok… I just want you to know that in wont let it affect my work," she assured him.  
"I'm not worried about that Phoebe," he told her.  
Another nod, "Thank you Grissom," she said quietly, pausing before standing up, "I uh better get back to Greg and Nick."  
He gave a small nod, watching as she headed out the room, "Phoebe," he called as she opened the door.  
"Yeah?" she turned.  
"Any more problems with him, let me know," he said.  
"Ok," she said with a small smile before turning back, heading down the corridor.

It was finally time to go home, Phoebe was in the locker room, she wasn't sure where Greg and Nick were, after they'd finished in the interrogation room she'd lost them somewhere between there and the locker room.  
She sat on the bench, her locker open in front of her. She leant forwards resting her elbows on her knees, head in her hands. Since Chris had gone a few hours ago she'd concentrated on the case, trying not to think about him. For a moment she'd actually felt afraid of him, which is something she never thought would happen.  
She was lost in her thoughts and didn't hear anyone else enter the room, and jumped slightly when she heard Greg speak, "Hey," he said softly.  
She looked up, "Oh, hi Greg, I didn't hear you," she admitted.  
"Everything ok?" he asked as he opened his own locker.  
"Oh yeah," she said, standing herself up, pulling her bag and cardigan out from inside.  
"You sure?" he persisted, sitting himself down on the bench as he changed his shoes, throwing the pair he'd had on in his locker, listening to the bang it created.  
Phoebe paused, looking down at him sighing, "I don't know… I guess its just Chris," she admitted.  
Greg looked up from tying his laces, "He's really getting to you,"  
"I wish he wasn't, its just you know, most people end a relationship and that's it, its over… but he just wont let it go," she said quietly, rubbing her eyes.  
He stood up, looking over at her, "Pheebs, don't let him get to you, eventually he'll get the message… from what Sara said I don't think he'll come back here again," he finished with a small smile.  
She let out a small laugh, "Yeah, I think she scared him a little."  
Greg smiled at her, "Come on, let's get out of here," he said, as he grabbed his jacket slamming the locker door shut.  
"Sounds good," she replied, as she too slammed her locker shut, grabbing her bag from the bench, following Greg out the room.  
They got to the reception and were just about to leave the building when Greg stopped, "Damn it, I forgot my car keys," he cursed as he reached his hand in his pocket.  
Phoebe rolled her eyes, "I thought I was dopey," she laughed.  
Greg laughed, "You carry on… I'll see you tonight?" he asked.  
"Sure," she smiled at him, as she watched him turn and head back inside.

It was bright and sunny outside as she made her way out to the parking lot. Pulling her keys from her bag, she listened out for the beep as she pushed the button. As she got to the car she reached out to open the door and jumped as she felt a hand grab her arm, turning her round, "Chris!" she jumped.  
"I don't like being made a fool of like that," he said lowly.  
She looked up at him, "Well then don't act like one," she shot back.  
He stared down at her, she could tell he was angry, "I'm not the fool… you're stupid if you thought I would just let it go."  
"I'm stupid?" she questioned, "I'm not the one who thinks there's any chance that we're gonna get back together," she spat.  
He stepped in closer, pushing her up against the car, "Don't you dare tell me I'm stupid!"  
She stared up at him, refusing to back down this time, "It's easy to do," she said quietly. He grabbed her shoulders roughly, causing her head to bang against the window, she flinched, expecting his fist to make contact with her, and was surprised when she felt someone pull him away. Looking up she saw it was Greg.  
"Get off her," he warned, stepping in between Phoebe and Chris, holding his hand up to prevent Chris getting any closer.  
Chris laughed, "Oh look who it is, Sanders to the rescue," he teased.  
Greg ignored him and turned to look at Phoebe, "You ok?"  
She nodded, "Yeah," she told him, rubbing the back of her head.  
"Man this is great, first you tail Sidle around like some little lap dog and now Phoebe," he smirked.  
"Chris," Phoebe tried.  
Chris ignored her, "You'll always be second best, nothing more then a science freak, the one who'll never get the girl," he sneered.  
Greg clearly looked hurt and embarrassed, Chris smiled to himself, Phoebe stepped out from behind Greg, "Just shut up! You're a complete asshole you know that! I don't know what I ever saw in you," she yelled angrily.  
"You whore," Chris cursed, reaching out to grab at her again.  
Greg stepped in slamming Chris up against the next car, one arm pinning him there, "You call her that again and I swear to god I make sure you regret it," he threatened.  
"You wouldn't risk your career like that" Chris threw back.  
"Whose career do you think would be on the line, a cop who's pushing his ex around… or mine?" Greg reasoned. Chris didn't say anything, Greg held him there for a moment longer before stepping back, letting him go.  
Chris straightened out his uniform shaking his head, "Whatever your trying to prove Sanders it wont work, she's way outta your league," he muttered walking away.

Phoebe and Greg watched him go, once out of sight she turned to look at Greg, she could clearly see that's Chris's comment had brought him down and he looked embarrassed.  
"I'll see you later," he said quietly, turning to leave.  
"Greg wait," she placed a hand on his arm, stopping him.  
"Phoebe," he sighed.  
She looked up at him, "Thank you," she said quietly.  
"Don't mention it," he replied.  
"Uh… you wanna go get some breakfast or something," she began "please?" she added, noticing the look on his face.  
He sighed once more, "Sure… I guess."

They entered the diner across from the lab in silence, Phoebe followed Greg where he headed over, sitting in a booth. She surprised him by rather then sitting opposite him placing herself beside him.  
Before she had a chance to say anything the waitress appeared, they both placed their order, returning to the silence once she'd gone.  
"Listen Greg… thank you for helping me out," she told him.  
"Hey, I told you, don't mention it," Greg repeated, looking down at the table, playing with the sugar pot.  
Phoebe sighed, "Greg, please don't let what he said get to you… he's nothing but a jerk," she told him.  
"Pheebs…" he began, but was interrupted as the waitress reappeared with their drinks.  
"Thanks," Phoebe smiled at her, once she'd gone she turned back to Greg. He was now staring into his drink, "Greg please," she tried.  
He looked up from his drink, catching her gaze, "The thing is, everything he said… it's true." he finished quietly.  
"What?" Phoebe was surprised, "Greg that's just crap… "  
"You're trying to tell me I'm not some science freak?" he reasoned.  
"Hey, in this job we're all science freaks," she pointed out.  
He turned from her to look out the window and he paused before turning back to her. "Phoebe… the things he said… we all have our insecurities, and he just managed to nail all of mine" he found himself telling her truthfully.  
She hesitated, unsure what to say, he looked away again, staring into the bottom of his juice. After a moment she spoke up, "Greg, he only said those things to get a reaction," she tried.  
"Maybe so, it doesn't change the fact that they're true, I mean I haven't had a real girlfriend in like 4 years…"  
"But I bet you've dated…I mean this is coming from the guy who was a Phi Beta Kappa," she reminded him. At this she got a small smile, "I knew there was one in there somewhere," she said quietly.  
Greg sighed again "The truth is, even at school I felt second best to my friends… I mean imagine starting school a year early, everyone else is older then you, and they all think you're just some nerd who's trying to kiss ass with the teachers." he told her. He looked over at her, and carried on, "And now look at me, I'm almost 30 and I still don't have it right, I'm sat here with the most beautiful woman I've ever met and I cant stop talking about myself."  
Phoebe blushed, and didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth to say something but was again interrupted by the waitress, who placed their food on the table. Greg began to pick at his food, while Phoebe just stared down at the plate in front of her, "And now I've embarrassed you," he spoke up.  
"No, Greg, it's not that… it's just, nothing…" she looked down.  
The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes both picking at their food, not really eating it.  
After another minute she spoke up, "You know, I'm not really beautiful, its just makeup."  
Greg gave a small laugh, "Don't cut yourself short,"  
Phoebe laughed, "You're one to talk," she pointed out.  
"Point taken," Greg returned.  
They were quiet again as they both ate, after another few minutes Phoebe spoke, trying to change the subject, "Y'know, I still can't believe we went to the same college and I never knew you."  
"Small world huh," he smiled.  
"I bet you had your fair share of girls at college," she added.  
"I guess… but would the Delta Gamma Phoebe Jones have dated me I wonder?" he pondered.  
"I think we both know the answer to that question," Phoebe said softly, smiling.  
He glanced across at her, "I don't."  
"You just want me to give you an ego boost," she teased.  
Greg just smiled to himself, looking down at his plate, "You know I would have," he heard her say gently.  
He looked across at her, "What, even though you're out my league," he couldn't help but say.  
She held his gaze, frowning slightly, "Greg, I'm not out of your league."  
Greg looked away, not sure if he believed her, "Greg…" she said.  
He looked back, "You sure you're not just saying that to try cheer me up," he said suspiciously.  
"Promise," she assured him.

They didn't stay much longer, and soon found themselves heading out the diner. Greg held the door open for Phoebe, once he'd closed the door he buried his hands in his pockets, skulking behind her. She stopped and waited for him, linking her arm though his, much to his surprise. She smiled at him, "Don't look so surprised Greg," she told him.  
He smiled, "Sorry."  
They walked across the road, over to the parking lot, heading toward Phoebe's car. Once they got there Phoebe let go of his arm and turned to face him.  
"So…" she began.  
He smiled nervously, "So…" he repeated.  
"Greg, I just want you to know… whatever Chris said, well I don't agree with any of it, and I think you're a really great guy," she smiled, looking a little shy as she did.  
His cheeks turned a slight shade of red, "Y'know, if I had any guts at all right now I'd kiss you," he said quietly.  
She found herself staring right into his eyes and after a slight hesitation leaned up, pressing her lips against his.  
For a moment he was too surprised to react, but soon found himself kissing her back, taking his hands from his pockets, resting them on her waist. Phoebe stood up on her tiptoes, deepening the kiss, resting her hands round the back of his neck.  
After a minute she pulled away slowly, stepping back, she bit her lower lip, a smile playing on her lips, "I'll uh… see you tonight Greg," she said softly.  
"Uh… sure," he smiled, still slightly dazed. He stepped back as she opened the door, getting in the car. He could only stand and stare after her as she gave him one last smile before driving out the parking lot.  
After another minute of standing in the same spot he managed to turn and walk in the direction of his own car, a smile beginning to play on his lips. As he reached his car he looked up, and stopped when he saw Chris sat in his patrol car, staring at him from across the street.  
He jumped, hearing Nicks voice behind him, "Nick, uh hey," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.  
Nick had a smile on his face, "So… you and Phoebe huh."  
"Oh… you uh… you saw that?" Greg questioned.  
"Was difficult not to," he teased. Greg looked down, slightly embarrassed, "Hey man, I'm pleased for you," he smiled at the younger man.  
Greg couldn't help but smile, "Thanks Nick."  
"Sure… anyway, I'll see you tonight," Nick said.  
"Sure, bye," Greg called, as Nick walked over toward his own car. Another pause before he finally got into his car, smiling to himself all the way home.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys, thanks for reading, would appreciate a review to know what you think. Anyway, hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter 6

That night work was busy, Phoebe was working with Catherine and didn't get a chance to talk to Greg. Every time

she tried to find him he was busy, and visa versa. By the time she was finishing up Greg was no where to be

found.

"Hey, Sara," she called to her as she walked out the evidence room.

Sara stopped and turned to see Phoebe heading toward her and waited for her to catch up, "Hey Phoebe, what's

up?"

"Hi Sara… have you seen Greg?"

"Yeah, he left about 15 minutes ago, we just finished up the case," she explained.

"Oh," Phoebe looked disappointed.

Sara smiled, "You look disappointed,"

Phoebe caught her gaze, "Oh uh, I just wanted to talk to him about something… uh, do you know his address?"

she questioned, figuring she could go see him at home.

Sara looked slightly puzzled, "Yeah, uh sure," she began, giving the address to Phoebe.

"Thanks Sara," Phoebe smiled, "I'll see you later," she called as she turned and headed toward the locker room.

Greg opened the door to his apartment, slowly walking through the threshold. He kicked off his shoes, kicking

them aside as he banged the door shut behind him.

As he headed into the kitchen to grab a drink he began to think about Phoebe. He'd really wanted to talk to her

about what had happened the previous morning, but every time he'd tried she'd been busy, and whenever she

went to talk to him he was too busy. He'd waited to see if he could find her before he left but couldn't find her

anywhere and Warrick said he thought her and Cath had gone out again, so he'd decided to head home.

He grabbed a carton of juice from the refrigerator grabbing a clean glass from the draining board with his other

hand, and he poured himself a drink he let out a small sigh, maybe the kiss hadn't really meant anything, maybe

she'd just kissed him cause she felt sorry for him. Maybe he shouldn't have been so honest, not told her how he

really felt, he should have just let the comments from Chris roll off his back, or at least let her think they had. He

rubbed a hand over his face, grabbing the glass and heading into the living room, falling back on his sofa. He was

tired but didn't feel like sleeping just yet and found himself switching on the TV.

He'd just settled on an old episode of Seinfeld when he heard a knock at the door. Frowning to himself he stood

up, wondering who it could be.

He got to the door and pulled it open, surprised when he saw Phoebe standing on the other side. She smiled up

at him, "Hi."

"Phoebe… hi," he said, "Come in," he added, standing aside.

"Thanks," she replied stepping into the apartment, "I hope you don't mind me just turning up," she began.

"Of course not, it's nice to get someone other then the mailman at the door," he joked, heading over toward the

living room area.

As she followed him she took in the apartment, it was nice, very open and spacious, the hall, living room, dining

room and kitchen were all open, merging into one huge room, "This is a nice place," she told him.

"Thanks… I like it," he replied, motioning for her to take a seat on the sofa.

She took her jacket off before sitting down, placing her bag on the floor, "I uh… well I just wanted to talk to you….

We didn't get a chance at work so… here I am," she smiled.

"Yeah… I was gonna wait and try and talk to you after but I couldn't find you anywhere," he explained, taking a

seat beside her.

She turned so she was facing him, pulling one leg under her slightly, "I uh… I guess I just wanted to make sure

that I told you… well…" she looked down, unsure what to say. After a slight pause she looked back up at him,

"Greg, yesterday… when I kissed you, well I want you to know that I did it because I wanted to and I like you, I

mean _a lot, _but… well I'm still hurting I guess and…" she trailed off looking down.

She felt Greg take one of her hands, "Pheebs… its ok, I understand that, I'd be surprised if you weren't," he

spoke softly.

She felt her cheeks burning red and didn't know what to say, she jumped slightly as she felt Greg tuck a piece of

wayward hair behind her ear, causing her to look back up at him.

She let out a tiny laugh, "God, I'm sorry, whenever I talk to you I just get all emotional and girly."

At this he laughed, "If I remember I was the one who was all emotional and girly yesterday," he joked.

At this she smiled, "Hey, just cause your emotional doesn't make you girly," she assured him, staring at him for a

moment before looking back down, when she brought her gaze back up he was still staring at her. She wasn't

sure if it was her this time or him, but as their lips met she felt herself relax, leaning into him. After a moment she

felt him pull away, he smiled down at her as she looked up at him through her bangs. He slipped his arms round

her pulling her toward him in a hug. She rested her head against his shoulder and smiled to herself feeling his

hand in her hair.

After a minute or so she pulled back slightly, resting her head on his chest, "God Greg, I'm just so confused," she

sighed. He sat back, stroking her hair, remaining silent just letting her talk, "Its just I really like you… but I cant

get Chris out my head… and its not cause I wanna get back with him I just… and I don't think you should have to

wait around until my head stops being this big mess," she mumbled.

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," he promised.

She looked up at him, a small smile on her lips, "I guess I just need some time to get stuff sorted."

"How long you need… a few hours…" he grinned, teasing. She laughed, hitting him playfully on the arm, "I'm just

kidding," he told her.

"Sure you are," she muttered.

"Nick!" Sara called, chasing him down the corridor.

"Hey Sara," the Texan smiled as she reached him.

"Griss said I'm working with you tonight," she informed him.

"Cool," he nodded, "I'm just about to head over to the scene now, and before you even try I'm driving,"

She laughed, "Ok," she smiled.

As they began to walk down the corridor she realised she hadn't seen Phoebe yet that shift, "Hey have you seen

Phoebe?" Nick shook his head,

"Not tonight, why?"

"Oh, no reason… she asked me for Greg's address earlier, I hope she found it ok," she told him. She looked over

and noticed Nick had a sly smile on his face, "What's that look for?"

"What look?" he asked innocently, though failing to remove the smile from his face.

"That 'I know something you don't know' look," Sara persisted, "Am I missing something?" She stared at him for a

moment before her mouth fell open, "Did something happen? What happened? What did they do?"

"I don't know what your on about Sara," Nick smirked.

It was half way through the shift, and it was a slow night, so far only Nick and Sara had had any sort of case to

go out on, Grissom had asked the others to catch up on all their paperwork from the past few nights, which unlike

this one had been extremely busy.

Catherine, Warrick, Greg and Phoebe were all sat in the break room, they all had various papers in front of them,

and were slowly getting through it, but most of their time was spent chatting.

Sara and Nick were working on their case, but had decided it was time for a break, and entered the break room,

looking around at the others, "Man, why is it we get stuck working and you guys are just sitting around on your

butts looking like you are?" Nick complained.

"Yeah, you guys have it easy," Sara added as she sat down beside Catherine, stealing a potato chip from the

open bag in front of her.

"Hey," Nick began; grabbing himself some coffee, "You seen the new girl down in reception?"

"Amanda, yeah she's fine," Warrick spoke up.

"You know you guys there's more to a woman then just her looks," Sara spoke up.

"I didn't say there wasn't… but damn!" Nick laughed.

"Down boy," Catherine spoke up.

Phoebe just sat laughing at the camaraderie between the group, "Nick… did you even talk to her?" Sara

continued.

"Yes, and she seems nice too… but come on, you can't tell me you don't look at a guy and are attracted to their

looks first," he spoke up.

"Yeah," added Warrick joined in, "I know you like to look Sidle."

"Maybe so… but we're not as obvious about it as you guys… Cath, Phoebe, help me out here," she said, looking

at the other two women for help.

"I'm not saying anything," Catherine said, grabbing the bag of potato chips as Sara tried to steal the last one.

Phoebe caught them looking at her, "What… no, well I mean… hey I'm not getting involved," she held her hands

up.

"Hey Greggo, you been pretty quiet over there," Nick pointed out.

Greg looked up from where he had been writing, "What? I'm not getting involved either… I don't want Sara telling

me I'm just a 'typical male'," he joked.

Sara reached over and smacked him lightly on the arm, "Hey, you guys had anything to eat?" Nick asked,

changing the subject.

"Nah… why you wanna get take out?" Warrick questioned.

"Sure," Nick replied, "How about you guys?" he asked, looking over at the others.

"I'm in," Catherine said,

"Me too," Sara added.

"Me three," added Phoebe.

"Make that me four," Greg finished.

It was a little while later and their food had arrived, Chinese takeout. They had it spread across the table and

although each had their own orders were all picking at each others food.

"Nick, stop eating all my food," Sara smacked his hand away.

"You can have some of mine," he offered.

"That's not fair, you know I don't eat meat," she said, pulling her food further away from him.

He groaned, "but your looks nicer then mine…" he noticed Phoebe had the same thing as Sara;" Hey Pheebs, you

wanna swap?" he tried.

Phoebe looked up at him, before she had a chance to answer Greg spoke up, "Nick Phoebe's vegetarian too," he

told him. Nick raised an eyebrow, Greg looked across at Phoebe, "Sorry," he began, "you could have answered

that for yourself," she just smiled at him, shaking her head as if to say don't worry bout it.

"So Sara, when did you become a vegetarian?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh, a few years ago, Grissom did and experiment with a dead pig and some bugs… couldn't look at meat in the

same way after that," as she said this she made a face at the memory.

"Yeah, I shocked my mom by telling her I wanted to be a vegetarian when I was like 9, we went to this farm and I

remember asking what happened to the lambs… man I couldn't eat meat after that," Phoebe told her.

Just then they heard a small nervous cough in the doorway and looked up to see Amanda, the new receptionist,

"Uh, Mr Stokes, Captain Brass left a message for you," she began, handing him a small note.

Nick smiled at her, "Thanks Amanda… and please just call me Nick," She just returned a nervous smile before

leaving the group alone.

Nick waited till she was well out of earshot, "Damn, she's fine… ow!" he looked over to see it was Sara who had

thrown a plastic fork at him.

The others laughed, "God, I dread to think what you guys said about me when I started," Phoebe spoke up.

Nick and Warrick looked over at Greg, smiling slyly; Phoebe caught their looks, "What?" she asked, looking at

Greg.

He caught her eye, "Nothing," he said, she dropped it, just smiling at him.

The shift had gone extremely slow, and it was finally time to go home much to everyone's relief.

Phoebe and Greg were walking out to the parking lot together, once outside she nudged him slightly, "So…" she

began, "What _did_ you say about the new girl?"

Greg looked across at her smiling, "Oh… she's not my type," he assured her.

Phoebe looked up at him, "Ok, let me rephrase that… what did you say about me?"

He laughed, "Right to the point huh?"

She smiled, "Hey, a girls gotta know."

He stopped walking and turned to face her, "Well… I said I thought you were hot and… cute…and…"

"And?" she asked quietly.

"And I would be a happy guy if I could get a girl like that," he finished.

She raised her eyebrow, "Really?" she asked, leaning in slightly closer

"Hmm, really," he smiled, and moved closer towards her, "Hey Greg!" the voice interrupted them, causing them

both to step away, smiling up at each other.

They looked over to see Catherine heading their way, "Hey, lost something?" she asked as she reached them.

Greg looked confused, "No…"

She held up his cell phone, "You sure bout that?"

"Oh… man I didn't even notice," he began, taking it from her hand, "Thanks Cath."

"No problem," she smiled, "I'll see you guys later," she said, heading off.

Phoebe looked back at Greg once she was gone, "Well, I'll see you tonight," she smiled, leaning up and placing a

small kiss on his cheek.

Greg returned the smile, "Yeah, bye Pheebs," he returned, watching as she walked toward her own car.

As Phoebe pulled her car into the parking lot at her apartment she was definitely in a good mood. She hadn't

seen Chris in a few days, she was enjoying work and felt like everyone accepted her and the best thing was her

relationship with Greg. He was being so good to her, and not putting any pressure on her for things to happen,

just enjoying each others company.

She headed up the stairs to her floor and turned the corridor toward her apartment, as she did so she noticed

something outside her door. As she got closer she could see it was some flowers, a pretty large bouquet in fact.

She unlocked the door and bent down to pick the flowers up, heading through the door, kicking it shut behind

her. She searched the flowers for a card of some kind, and found an envelope hidden amongst the bunch.

She placed the flowers down on the side in her kitchen, and headed into the living room, tearing open the

envelope as she did so. As she sat back on the sofa she saw there was a letter as well as a photo, turning it over

she stopped, staring down at it. It was a photo of her and Chris, taken at her last birthday, after a moment she

tossed it aside, and opened the note, reading the familiar handwriting.

_Hi Phoebe,_

I know you don't want to talk to me, and I guess I can't blame you. I just want you to know I love you, and I'm sorry I

hurt you, I was stupid I realise that now. I just want you to know I'm not giving up on us… I saw you kissing Sanders…

what are you doing Phoebe, the guys a nothing; we were good together, great together. I'll see you soon.

Love Chris.

She stared down at the paper, it was a lot to take in, the fact the he was still convinced she would forgive him,

and the fact that he'd seen her and Greg together. She found herself screwing the note up, throwing it down on

the table, where she noticed the photo; she grabbed it, and angrily tore it in half, then again and again until

there was nothing but tiny pieces left.

She fell back onto the sofa, tears creeping out the corner of her eyes, she was so angry and upset she wanted to

scream and cry all at the same time. What made her feel more angry then sad was the fact that he'd found out

her address, something she'd been hoping he wouldn't do.

She sat there wiping at her eyes, trying to stop the tears that were slowly falling down her cheeks, after a minute

she stood up, walking back into the kitchen, she grabbed the flowers, tossing the whole bunch into the trash,

stuffing them down. She didn't care if they were the most expensive bouquet. She didn't want anything from him;

she wanted him out of her life once and for all. She stood staring around the room, she couldn't go to bed now,

her head was swimming with thoughts, instead she did the only thing she could think of, and went in search of

her old photos, she might not be able to get rid of him just yet, but she could rid the apartment of anything to do

with him, which meant all their photos, torn and tossed.

The sound of her cell phone ringing, vibrating round the coffee table awoke Phoebe. She opened her eyes,

looking around slightly confused, as she sat up. She realised she was in the living room, still on the sofa, having

not made it to bed. She realised what it was that had woken her up and leaned over, picking up the phone she

glanced at the screen, the caller id showed it was Warrick. She quickly looked at her watch, thinking that maybe

she'd overslept, but she saw she still had over 2 hours before she had to be at work. Opening the phone she

answered the call,

"Hi Warrick," she said sleepily,

"Hey Phoebe, I'm sorry to wake you," came Warrick's voice through the phone.

She tried to hold back a yawn, "That's ok,"

"I know you're probably gonna hate me but Griss called, the swing shift is totally tapped and he and Sara are

already out on a case, I need you to come in early… we got a double homicide over on Fairmount street, I got Nick

and Greg coming in too," he told her.

She sighed, "Sure… I'll be there,"

"Ok, I'll see you there, 592;" he told her the address.

"Sure, bye Warrick," she finished, closing the phone.

20 minutes later and she arrived at the scene, which was across the other side of town from her apartment. She

had managed to quickly change her clothes and wash her face which had mascara running down it from where

she'd been crying. She'd taken one last look at herself in the mirror on her way out and although she wasn't

looking her best she looked presentable.

As she got there she saw Greg and Nick were just arriving too.

"Hey guys," she smiled, walking up the path to the house besides them.

"Hi Pheebs," they said in unison.

"You guys got called in too huh," Greg said, trying to hold back his yawn, which in turn started Phoebe off.

"Oh Greg, you know they're contagious," she moaned.

Nick laughed, "Come on guys," he said as the 3 stepped under the tape.

They found Brass stood with Warrick in the entrance hall, "Hey guys," Warrick said, spotting them first.

"So, what we got?" Nick asked.

"Bobby and Stacy Williams, husband and wife, neighbour heard gunshots called it in," Brass told them, "Two

uniforms got here, they found the bodies, cleared the scene."

"They through there?" Phoebe asked, looking through to the living room.

"Yeah," he nodded, as the four CSI's headed into the room. The wife was lying on her front on the floor, with

what appeared to be 2 GSW's to the back. The husband was slumped up against the sofa, with a single GSW to

the head.

At first Phoebe didn't notice as she was busy looking at the bodies, but once she looked up she realised it was

Chris who was the officer on DB watch, and inwardly groaned, at least she thought in had been inwardly until she

noticed the other guys look at her. They saw her gaze and looked up to see Chris; the three guys shared a look

but ignored him.

"Ok, so Nicky, Greg, you guys wanna take a body each, Phoebe, take the room and I'll do the perimeters," Warrick

said, taking charge of the scene.

"Sure," they all agreed, and began getting on with their jobs.

The room was large, stretching across the length of the house. Nick and Greg were photographing the bodies,

and David had arrived, and was in the process of assessing the bodies. "Uh, hey guys, they've been dead less

then an hour," he informed them as he checked the liver temp of the female vic.

"I think I got our murder weapon," Phoebe called over to them.

She had been over the far side of the room and spotted what looked like finger prints on the underside of the

large glass coffee table, and as she'd begun to brush for them she'd seen it, whoever their suspect was had

hidden the gun in the underside of the table. She placed it in an evidence bag and continued dusting for prints.

She thought she heard a noise and paused, listening closer. After a second she shook her head and carried on. A

moment later she heard it again. She stopped looking over to the cupboard in the wall beside her. She definitely

heard something that time. She stood upright, "Uh, guys…" she called over to Greg and Nick.

She put her hand on her gun, and was about to tell the guys she had heard something when the door to the

cupboard flew open. Before Phoebe even had a chance to grab for her gun she was pushed hard and went flying,

falling backwards, smashing through the glass table she'd been working on moments before.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for your reviews, I really appreciate them. Glad you are enjoying the story.

Chapter 7

_She put her hand on her gun, and was about to tell the guys she had heard something when the door to the cupboard _

_flew open. Before Phoebe even had a chance to grab for her gun she was pushed hard and went flying, falling _

_backwards, smashing through the glass table she'd been working on moments before, she didn't even have a chance to _

_scream as she felt the glass cutting into her arms._

Whoever had been hiding in the cupboard managed to grab the evidence bag with the gun in, the men in the

room all grabbed for their own weapons, threatening to shoot, but their suspect didn't seem to care and made his

way through the room so fast the shots they did fire were pointless.

One of the cops came running in the room, "He took off through the back door," he told them.

Nick and Greg rushed over to Phoebe, who was lying motionless. She was momentarily stunned and found she

couldn't move.

"Oh my god," Nick muttered, looking down at her.

"Phoebe are you ok?" Greg asked urgently.

"I… I don't know…" she began, trying to move, but wincing at the pain it caused as it only disturbed the glass she

was lying in.

"Wait, don't move," Nick instructed. Phoebe obeyed him staying still, she closed her eyes, shutting out the pain.

"Okay, Greg, if you lift her top half and I'll get her legs," he began, watching as Greg moved round beside her,

placing his arms under her shoulders, "Gently now," Nick added, as he hooked his own arms under her knees and

the two of them carefully lifted her out, placing her on her feet.

She was clearly shaken and had various lacerations to her arms, some of which looked more serious then others,

and a some minor cuts to her head and face, luckily she'd been wearing her vest which had protected her back

and chest.

Chris headed over to her, "Phoebe, god are you ok?"

She looked up as he approached her, "Don't touch me…" she sounded angry.

Chris ignored her and reached out to touch her, "Man you touch her and I'll kill you," Nick threatened.

Phoebe was shaken up and scared and trying to cover it up with her anger, "God Chris, you been a cop for 10

years and you still can't clear a damn crime scene."

"I cleared the scene," he said, though he sounded less confident then usual.

At this point Brass came back into the room, having chased the guy out the room, he headed right over to Chris,

"You trying to loose your job?" he chastised.

"I cleared it… he must have been hiding," he tried.

"Gee, a perp still on scene, hiding?" Brass began, "You don't say," he said sarcastically.

Nick and Greg were still stood with Phoebe; Nick had a hold of her arm and was trying to gently brush some of the

stray hair from her face that was caught in the cuts.

"We need a first aid kit over here," Greg called out, hoping someone would bring one. He had his hand resting on

her back and could feel her shaking, he glanced up at Nick, and the two shared a look of concern.

Just then one of the other cops came running in the room a first aid kit in his hand, "Ambulance is on its way," he

told them as he handed it over to Greg.

"Thanks," Greg said, taking the kit, leaning down, placing it on the floor and pulling it open to taking a wad of

gauze, he stood upright and placed it on what looked like the worst of Phoebe's cut, at the top of her arm. He

was trying to be gentle, but at the same time knew he needed to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

Phoebe was beginning to feel slightly sick and a little dizzy; as she felt Greg apply the gauze to her arm she

couldn't help but let out a tiny whimper and felt herself leaning away. Nicks grip on her arm tightened, and he

placed his other arm round her back, holding her up.

"Sorry Pheebs," Greg said quietly, "But I gotta try stop the bleeding,"

She nodded her head slowly, "Its ok," she assured him.

"Come on, lets get you outside," Nick said, looking across at Greg who nodded and the two of them guided her

out the room and out the front door. Once outside they sat her down on the step, she let out a shaky sigh

looking across at the two of them, "Thanks guys."

"Hey, don't worry bout it," Nick smiled, "You gonna be ok?" he looked across at Greg, who nodded, "Ok, I'm gonna

head back in, I'll be back in a minute ok?" he said looking at Phoebe.

She gave him a small smile, "I'll be fine Nick."

He just smiled at her once more before heading inside.

Once he was gone Greg began to tend to some of the smaller cuts on her face. She looked at him, and his eyes

caught hers and for a moment they just stared at each other. Phoebe could see that his eyes were full of worry

and concern and though she was trying to hide it Greg could still see the fear in her eyes.

"How you feeling?" he asked.

"Ok," she told him.

"Liar," he said quietly.

She looked down, glancing at her arms, it had been a long time since she'd found herself scared at a scene, and

she'd never been attacked like that before. When she looked up she could see he was concentrating on dressing

some of the cuts on her arms. She flinched, pulling away slightly as she touched her arm, and looked at him.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you," he told her quietly.

"You didn't," she replied quietly.

As Nick headed back into the house he headed straight over to Chris, "What the hell were you thinking? You

didn't check the cupboards?" he yelled.

Chris turned round looking at him, "Hey, you think you can do my job?"

"A hell of a lot better then you can," Nick shot back, "What were you trying to get some sort of revenge on her for

getting rid of your sorry ass?"

"What? You think I could hurt Phoebe?" Chris was angry as he got up in Nick's face.

Nick didn't back down however, "Yeah, I do!" he yelled pushing Chris backwards slightly.

"Hey!" Brass called, pulling Nick back, "Back off," he said, although this was aimed at Chris.

Nick pulled away, shooting daggers at Chris.

Brass turned his attention to Chris, "Get back to the station," he told him.

"But…" Chris began to protest but Brass cut him off.

"Now… I'll talk to you when I get back," he warned.

Chris stared at Nick before storming out the room.

Phoebe was still sat outside on the step with Greg when Chris came storming out. He stopped seeing her sat

there, "Pheebs…" he began, she looked away from him, "I'm… I'm sorry," he told her. She kept her gaze on the

floor and he took one last look at her before leaving.

Once he was gone she looked at Greg sighing, "You know… he got away with the evidence," she said.

"No he didn't" she heard Warrick and looked up to see him holding the still sealed evidence bag. He knelt down in

front of her, "How you holding up?"

She gave him a small smile, "Ok I guess… Greg's taking care of me," she told him, glancing across at Greg, who

gave her a smile.

"He'd better be," Warrick joked, causing her to smile.

Just then they heard the ambulance arriving, "Did he get away?" she asked Warrick as he looked over to where

the paramedics were heading toward them.

"Nah, he wasn't fast enough," he grinned, standing up.

Greg went with her in the ambulance and they were now in a room waiting. The paramedic had dressed her

larger wounds, but told her she would almost definitely need stitches. She was sat on the edge of the bed, her

legs dangling over the side, Greg was stood in front of her. They'd already been waiting 20 minutes and didn't

know how much longer they would have to wait.

Greg watched her as she sat swinging her legs slightly, her gaze on the floor, he smiled to himself.

"You don't have to wait," she said quietly, looking up at him.

"I'm waiting," he told her.

She looked at him, pausing before asking, "Did Warrick tell you to stay with me?"

"No… but I'm going to anyway," he informed her.

She gave him a small appreciative smile, before returning her gaze to the floor. He watched her again and could

see her hands, which she held in her lap, were shaking. He reached over and gently took them in his, causing her

to jump slightly.

"Sorry," he said, keeping hold of her hands.

She smiled at him, closing her eyes for a moment, trying to block out the wave of nausea that came over her.

Greg noticed the look on her face, "Phoebe, you feeling ok?"

She opened her eyes, "Mmm? Oh yeah… just a little sick is all," she replied, "But… I'll be fine," she continued,

seeing the look on his face.

"You sure… I can go find a doctor," he offered.

She shook her head, "It's not that bad,"

It was an hour later and she was finally ready to leave. She'd had in total 47 stitches in 5 different places on her

arms, as well as butterfly stitches to a couple of the cuts on her forehead. Greg had held her hands the whole

time she'd been having the stitches, which was a good thing cause it hurt.

The doctor had discharged her and Greg had called Nick to come and get them. They were waiting in the corridor;

Phoebe was sat on the bench, leaning her back against the wall while Greg stood watching her. "Phoebe?" Greg

called.

She looked up, "You're still shaking," he told her.

"No I'm not," she tried.

He knelt down in front of her, "Yeah you are," he said gently.

Phoebe blinked a few times, looking down at the floor, "God… look at me the fearless CSI," she tried to joke, but

it didn't really work.

"Hey, Phoebe," Greg began, tucking some hair behind her ear, "It's ok to be scared."

"I'm not scared," she tried, but it came out in little more then a whisper.

Greg stared at her, touching a hand gently to her cheek, "I won't tell anyone," he promised. She tried to smile,

but instead felt a few tears creeping from her eyes. "Hey," he began, pulling her into a hug.

She wrapped her arms round his shoulders and tried to squeeze back the rest of her tears. After a few minutes

she pulled back, rubbing at her eyes, "Thank you," she said quietly.

He gave her a warm smile, "Don't mention it."

"Guys?" they heard the familiar Texan accent and looked up to see Nick.

"Nick," Greg said, standing up, offering Phoebe a hand, which she took, pulling herself up.

"Hey, how you doing?" Nick asked her.

"Better now, thanks," she smiled.

He returned the smile, "You have to have many stitches?" he asked.

"47," she groaned.

He gave a grimace, "Man that's a lot of stitches,"

"Tell me about it," she moaned, "I can tell you one thing, I'm getting rid of my glass coffee table," she smiled.

The two guys laughed, as they headed out toward the parking lot, and Nicks car. Phoebe couldn't fail to notice

Greg had his arm round her back, supporting her, but she just smiled to herself.

Back at the lab everyone was waiting to see how she was. After she had assured everyone she was ok Grissom

took her into his office.

Once she was sat down he asked her how she really was.

"I'm…" she hesitated, "I'm a little shaken I guess… and kinda sore, but other then that, I'm fine," she finished with

a small smile.

"Listen, go home, we'll be fine here, get some rest," he told her.

"Oh, I don't need to go home… really I'll be fine," she assured him.

"Phoebe… you were pushed through a sheet of glass… go home," he insisted.

She looked across at him, "Uh… Griss… the truth is, I don't really want to go home, not just yet anyway… I don't

wanna be on my own," she admitted, looking down feeling slightly ashamed.

"Oh… ok, well stay, but I just want you working in the lab," he told her.

"That's not a problem," she promised,

"And take as many breaks as you need," he continued.

She smiled, "Ok," she relied as she stood up.

"Oh, and Phoebe?" he called before she left.

"Yeah?"

"If you change your mind… " he began.

She nodded her head, "Sure… thank you Grissom," she smiled before leaving.

Greg was heading down the corridor, looking to help Warrick with the evidence they'd recovered from the scene.

He looked up and saw Chris heading out Brass's office; he looked pretty pissed to say the least.

Greg had plenty he wanted to say to him, but decided it would be best to leave it. Chris must have had other

plans though as he heard him call, "Sanders!" causing him to turn round.

Chris took the couple of steps toward him, what he said surprised Greg, "How's Phoebe doing?"

For a moment he almost sounded sincere, "She's doing fine… no thanks to you," he added.

"Listen Sanders… don't think I don't know what you're trying to do… you had just better stay the hell away from

her, she's _my_ fiancée," he warned.

Greg almost wanted to laugh, "God are you really that delusional?"

Chris snapped, and slammed Greg up against the wall, "I'm delusional? You're the one who seems to think

Phoebe would even look at you twice," Chris shot back.

Greg put his hand up to Chris's, trying to loosen his grip on his collar, "I saw you watching us in the parking lot…"

he choked out, reminding Chris that he'd seen them kissing with his own eyes.

"That was just to make me jealous," Chris said, and sounded like he actually believed it.

Greg knew he could tell him he was wrong, tell him they'd shared more then that one kiss, but he didn't want to

share that with anyone, "If you believe that your more delusional then I thought," he returned, trying to push

Chris back.

"Hey, what that hell…" he heard Brass's voice, as he felt him pull Chris off before he saw him, "That's it Merkoff,

you're on suspension!" he told him, "One week, unpaid leave… I want your badge and your gun, now!" he

finished. Chris looked more furious then before as he pulled his badge roughly from his uniform, grabbing his gun

from its holster, slamming them into Brass's hands. "Now get the hell out of here," Brass instructed.

Chris threw one last angry glare at Greg before storming down the hall.

"Thanks," Greg said, straightening out his shirt.

Brass looked at him, "Just try and stay out of his way," he told him.

Greg nodded, before turning and heading off, Brass shook his head before going back into his office.

Phoebe was sat alone in the evidence room, she was looking over the crime scene photo's, reading through the

autopsy reports. Though she was there alone the noise coming from the lab reassured her. She heard a noise in

the doorway and looked up to see Nick entering, "Hey," she smiled over at him.

"Phoebe, what you still doing here?" he asked, walking over to her.

"My shift doesn't finish yet," she pointed out.

"I know… but I'm sure Grissom would let you go home," he began.

"Yeah, he offered, but I'm fine… really," she told him.

He smiled, "If you say so… oh uh, you might wanna know, Brass suspended Chris… a week," he told her.

She looked up," Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah… he wasn't going to but he and Greg had a bit of a dispute… I think it was the last straw."

"Is Greg ok?" she sounded worried.

Nick smiled at her, "He's fine… "

"What kind of a dispute?" she questioned.

"Well, I wasn't there but, from what Brass said Chris had Greg pinned against the wall… but he's fine," he added

quickly of her look, "I don't know what they were arguing about though," he lied.

She nodded, "I think I have an idea," he said quietly.

Nick gave her a knowing smile, "Listen Phoebe, you know… if he gives you anymore trouble…"

"Thanks Nick, I really appreciate it… y'know my brothers would be pleased to know I got someone like you looking

out for me," she told him.

At this Nick broke out into a smile, "Hey, I was the youngest of 7, its nice for me to be the one looking out for

someone for a change," he told her.

"7? Man it thought being the youngest of 5 was bad enough," she smiled.

"5? You the only girl?" Nick questioned.

She nodded, "Yeah," she said, and looked down, "I kinda miss having them around," she sounded sad "Y'know,

maybe that's why Chris was never like this when we in Chicago, he knew they'd kick his sorry ass."

"Hey… if he carries on I'll kick his sorry ass," Nick promised her.

She looked up at him, "Thanks Nick," she said, understanding what he was getting at.

It was now morning, and time to go home, part of her didn't really want to leave, but at the same time her body

ached everywhere and she couldn't wait to crawl into bed.

She'd had a moment of panic when she realised she'd left her car at the crime scene, but Nick assured her one of

the cops and driven it back to the lab.

She was in the locker room, trying to pull her sweater on, but it was painful as she caught it on the dressing in

her arm, "Owww," she moaned quietly.

"You want a hand?" she looked over to see Greg coming in.

She hadn't seen him since she'd returned from the hospital, seeing as she'd been in the lab all night and he'd

been sent out to another scene. "Thank you," she smiled at him, as he stood behind her, helping with her

sweater.

"I uh, wanted to ask… are you ok, I mean, I heard about you and Chris," she said, turning round to face him.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine," he assured her.

"What did he say to you?" she wanted to know.

Greg looked away as he opened his own locker, "Oh… nothing much," he lied.

"Greg…" she said, knowing he was lying, "Please tell me."

He paused, turning back round to face her, sighing, "He asked me how you were… then he told me to stay away

from you, and that when we, uh kissed… he said you were just trying to make him jealous…" he explained.

Phoebe sighed, falling down onto the bench, "God… I'm sorry," she apologised.

He sat himself down beside her, "Hey… its not you're fault… anyway, I'm more worried about you," he admitted.

She looked across, giving him a smile, "I'm fine… or at least I will be," she corrected.

"Promise?" he asked.

She held his gaze, staring into his eyes, "Promise," she replied

* * *

So there its is, hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think, thank you :)


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for your reviews and those of you following the story, C.H.W.13 thank you for reviewing each chapter, I really appreciate it. Anyway, here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 8

Over the next week Phoebe found herself slightly jumpy at the crime scenes, though she didn't let it show. She

didn't hear from Chris, which she'd been expecting, especially since he'd been suspended. She'd found herself

going to breakfast after shifts every morning, sometimes it was just her and Greg, other times one or more of the

other guys would go with them.

She had just arrived at work, she was running a few minutes late and headed straight for the break room.

Everyone else was already there, and looked up as she entered.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," she apologised, "I was just at the hospital," she explained.

"Everything ok?" Grissom asked.

"Oh yeah, I just got the stitches out," she explained, sitting down beside Catherine.

Grissom nodded, "How they looking?" he asked, referring to her injuries.

"Oh, uh, yeah ok thanks," she smiled.

"Good… well, I've got enough here to keep you all busy," he told them, before proceeding to give them all their

assignments for the night.

He'd put Phoebe with Catherine, a breaking and entering in an apartment across town. It was a fairly simple case

and Phoebe knew that it wasn't a two man job.

On the way to the scene Phoebe was sat silently in the passenger seat while Catherine drove, "Uh Cath," she

spoke up.

"Yeah?" came her reply.

"Do you think that Grissom still doesn't feel confident in me?" she asked.

"What makes you say that?" Catherine questioned.

"Well… a B&E … we both know it doesn't take two CSI 3's to go... I mean I know I've only been here a month

but…"

Catherine sighed, "Listen, Phoebe, Gil is confident in you… he thinks you're good at your job… I'm sure he's got

his reasons for sending us out together," she reasoned.

"I guess," Phoebe replied quietly.

Catherine glanced over at the younger woman, "Hey, he wouldn't have hired you if he didn't think you were good

enough for the team, and I know he's been impressed with your work so far, so don't worry about it," she

advised.

Phoebe smiled at her, "Ok… thank you."

Once at the scene they were met by the officer on the case, it turned out it really wasn't much of a case, the only

things taken had been the TV and stereo system, but the owner of the apartment was a friend of the sheriff's

daughter, which could explain why they'd both been sent.

Phoebe was processing the living room, where the items had been taken from, and Catherine was looking for

prints on the door which had signs of forced entry.

As she was brushing for prints on the TV unit, where the TV had been, she stopped hearing a noise; her body

froze as she listened out for anything. After almost a whole minute she realised she was being stupid, just

because she heard a noise in no way mean that there was going to be someone hanging around like before. She

was just on edge that was all, it had probably been Catherine.

She continued what she was doing, she found two prints, and lifted them, placing them in her case. Once she'd

done that she pulled out her flashlight, shining it over the rest of the floor, seeing if there was anything she had

missed. She spotted what looked like a fibre and walked over, crouching down. She pulled out her tweezers and

picked it up, looking at it before placing it in an envelope. As she stood upright she stopped again, she was sure

she'd heard a noise this time. She turned to face the closet door, she felt her heart rate pounding as she peered

at it. The sensible part of her brain was telling her that of course there was no one in there, just because she'd

been attacked at a crime scene the week before, it had never happened any other times during her 3 years as a

CSI, so twice within a week…

She tried to shake the feeling away, but this time she most definitely heard a noise, pulling her gun from its

holster she held it up, her hands shaking slightly, taking a deep breath she reached forwards, pulling the door

open.

As soon as she did a tabby cat jumped out, meowing loudly, causing her to jump and stumble backwards, tripping

and falling with a bump onto the floor.

"You got a thing against cats?" she heard Catherine, and looked up to see her in the room.

"What?" she asked.

"You got your gun out," Catherine told her.

Phoebe looked down at the gun in her hand, "Oh… I uh… thought I heard a noise… I just uh…" she trailed off,

slightly embarrassed.

Catherine gave her a small smile, "Hey, don't worry about it…its understandable," she assured her.

Phoebe stood up, putting her gun back in its place, "Uh… could you maybe not tell anyone… I think I might could a

rep if people think I'm scared of cats," she joked.

Catherine gave her a smile, "Sure."

When they got back to the lab Phoebe still felt a little on edge, though she couldn't really explain why, though if

she was honest with herself she'd been a little on edge ever since the night she'd gone through that table, the

incident that night must have just triggered her off again.

She was running the prints she'd found through AFIS and as per usual had her iPod on, humming quietly.

When she felt a hand on her shoulder she almost felt her heart stop as she spun round seeing Greg.

"God, Phoebe, I'm sorry," he quickly apologised, realising how much he'd made her jump.

She pulled the headphones from her ears, trying to steady her breathing and heart rate, "Its ok," she tried to

smile, but felt pretty embarrassed, realising how pathetic she must look.

"I uh… just wanted to come see how you were doing," he smiled, "I didn't mean to give you a heart attack," he

added, giving her a small smile, though he still felt bad.

"Oh… don't worry about it, I guess I'm just a jumpy kinda person," she told him. He smiled at her, looking slightly

apprehensive, "Uh… Greg, did you want something else?" she asked.

"Actually… I did," he admitted, "I noticed you have the night off tomorrow… and uh, well I was thinking that you

might like to maybe uh, well get dinner.. or something?" he asked almost nervously.

"Oh uh…" she was a little surprised, as she hadn't expected that, "Um… actually Greg, I uh, I've been pretty tired,

I'd kinda just wanted to maybe catch up on my sleep…" she could immediately tell he looked disappointed, "Its

not that I don't want to," she added quickly, "I just… maybe another time?"

He nodded, "Sure, its okay, I just thought I'd ask," he said quietly, "I uh… better get back to Sara," he said,

quickly making his exit.

Phoebe watched him go, she wanted to kick herself, it wasn't that she didn't want to go, in fact the idea of a date

with Greg made her want to break out into a huge smile, it was just… well she was feeling pretty edgy, and

pathetic, she had planned to go home and sleep right though till the next night over and hope she woke up

feeling ok again. For a moment she thought about running after him and telling him she would go, but instead she

retuned her gaze back to the screen, though now she wasn't really concentrating.

Greg headed straight to the men's room, hoping not to see anyone on the way. Once there he splashed cold

water onto his face, hoping it would cool him down and get rid of the flushed red in his cheeks.  
_  
You really thought she would say yes, Sanders you really are stupid!_He mentally cursed himself. After a minute he

composed himself and took a deep breath before heading back out to the lab, looking for Sara.

For the rest of the shift he avoided Phoebe, which luckily wasn't too hard as he'd spent most of it out of the lab.

Though when he had been in the lab he'd made sure he didn't see her, or quickly turned in the opposite direction

when he saw her coming. Sara noticed this and questioned it, but he'd brushed it off and thankfully she'd left it at

that.

Phoebe couldn't help but notice Greg was avoiding her, whenever she saw him he quickly made a disappearing

act, or quickly turned and walked away. At one point she'd been in the break room and seen him get to the

doorway, as soon as he'd spotted her he tried to make it look like he'd been walking past all along.

When it was finally time to go home she found herself relieved. It had been a tough shift and she just wanted to

crawl into bed. Though once she got home she found she couldn't sleep. She lay there for a few hours before

getting up. It was probably best as if she slept all day she wouldn't be able to sleep that night.

She had a long bath and got dressed, before looking at the clock. She worked out what time it would be in

Chicago, and made the decision to call her mom. She always found talking to her mom about her problems helped,

and seeing as her mom knew what was going on, all about Chris and Greg and the incident at the crime scene

she would know what Phoebe was going on about.

She dialled the familiar numbers and didn't have to wait long before her mom answered,

"Hi honey," she said upon hearing her daughters voice, "How you doing?"

"Oh, you know me mom, I'm holding up," she replied.

"Phoebe I'm you mother… what's wrong, I can hear it in your voice…has Chris been bothering you again?" she

asked.

"No… it's not that," Phoebe admitted, before letting out a sigh, "Mom… I just feel so stupid," she admitted, and

proceeded to explain about her shift, what had happened with the cat, and then with Greg, "And the thing is, I

really like him mom, he's a great guy, I just… I don't know," she finished.

"Aww, sweetie, your not stupid, you're probably just feeling scared, after what happened with Chris of course

your going to be unsure about dating… but from what you've told me about Greg, he sounds like a great guy…

maybe you should just go on a date, see what happens," she told her daughter.

"That's the thing though… I do want to go out with him… but I guess I'm worried, I mean he looked so… broken,

when I said no…" Phoebe trailed off.

"Phoebe, I'm sure he would be happy if you told him you'd changed your mind… just be honest with him, explain

how your feeling," her mother reasoned with her.

Phoebe sighed again, "I guess you're right,"

"I'm your mother, of course I'm right,"

She let out a small laugh, "I know… thanks mom."

"That's what I'm here for," he mom assured her.

"I know… I guess I should let you go… I love you mom," she told her.

"I love you too honey… and let me know what happens…"

Phoebe smiled, "I will, give my love to dad and the guys."

"Will do, take care,"

"You too," Phoebe replied before she switched the phone off.

She smiled to herself, she'd been right; talking to her mom had made her feel better.

Looking at her watch she saw it was already 5pm and was surprised. She picked the phone up again and began

to dial Greg's number when she stopped, no if she was going to do this she was going to do it right. She stood

up, looking down at what she was wearing, sweats and a t-shirt. Pausing she headed into her room, trying to

find something to wear.

It was over and hour later and she found herself sat in her car in the parking lot outside Greg's apartment block.

She'd spent ages trying to find the right thing to wear, she wanted to look smart but at the same time casual, not

giving away that she'd spent so long on her look. She'd finally settled on a pair of low rise jeans, with a simple

tight fitting t-shirt and she'd worn her hair down, figuring she always had it up at work. After another minute of

trying to decide what she would say when she saw him she slowly got out the car, and headed up to his

apartment.

She got to the door, taking one last deep breath before knocking. She waited a minute before knocking again,

this time louder. She sighed, maybe he was out, she should have called him. She tried once more, waiting a few

minutes. After no answer she turned slowly, stalking down the corridor.

Greg managed to get a few hours of broken sleep, but he couldn't get his mind from Phoebe. He kept playing their

conversation over in his head.

He couldn't decide if he'd been really stupid in asking her, or if… well maybe he was missing something. He really

liked her, and he was sure she felt the same way too, hell she told him she did, but maybe he was pushing her, it

had only been a little over a month since she'd ended a three year relationship after all.

He lay staring up at his ceiling, he had been lying there for over an hour now, unable to get back to sleep. After a

sigh he slowly pulled himself up, dragging himself out of bed.

He found himself sat in front of the TV with a cup of coffee, he couldn't really be bothered to do anything with his

day off. He must have fallen asleep once more as when he woke again it was gone 5. He slowly rubbed his eyes

as decided he should really have shower, considering he hadn't bothered with one when he'd got in that morning.

As he stood under the shower, letting the hot water pour down on him he felt his body relax a little.

After a minute he thought he heard someone knocking on his front door, he stopped, listening, there was

definitely someone knocking. He paused, it would probably just one of the neighbours, no one he really wanted to

talk to. As the banging persisted he sighed to himself, turning the shower off, he stepped out pulling a towel

round his waist and making his way out to the front door.

He pulled the door open, there was no one there, looking down the corridor he saw a figure retreating, he

frowned to himself, it looked like her, but what was she doing there, "Phoebe?" he called.

She stopped and turned round, and he saw her smile, before heading back toward him, "Uh… Greg, hey," she

smiled, looking him up and down, taking in his toned physique.

"Hi," Greg returned, still surprised to see her there.

"Can I uh… can I come in?" she asked.

"Oh, of course, yeah sorry," he said quickly, stepping aside.

Once inside there was a moment of awkward silence, and Greg realised he was stood in nothing more then a

towel, "Uh… give me two minutes," he told her.

"Oh, sure," she returned, watching as he gave a small nod before turning and heading into what she guessed

must be his bedroom.

True to his word he was back two minutes later, now wearing a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt.

He smiled at her, "So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked.

"Well…" she began, wandering where to start, "See, I was sat at home, and I was thinking to myself, Greg's a

really nice guy… why did I knock him back, I mean what's wrong with me, and I couldn't really answer that one to

be honest with you, so I figured I'll call my mom, cause she always knows what to say, so…" she paused slightly,

taking a breath before carrying on her rambling. "Anyway, my mom she told me that I was probably just scared to

date again, after what happened with Chris, and she told me Greg's a nice guy Pheebs, you should try dating him,

see where it goes, and y'know I figured she's right, I mean she's my mom she's always right… and I realise I'm

rambling now, so…" she stopped sighing. "I guess what I really mean is, I'm sorry I knocked you back earlier, I

was just… confused, and whatever it is between us… I don't wanna loose that… that is, I mean, if its not too late

already," she finished looking up to see Greg smiling, he held her gaze,

"Phoebe, I haven't felt this way about someone in a long time… that's not going anywhere," he assured her.

"It's not?" she asked hopefully.

"No," he smiled, "And, can I just say something… I've never heard anybody talk that fast," he told her.

She smiled, "I grew up with 4 older brothers, I had to speak fast to be heard," she said with a small laugh.

He laughed, "Well that makes sense… so uh, did you maybe want to go get that dinner?"

She gave him a big smile, "I would love to."

"Great… well I uh cant go like this," he said, looking down at his sweats, "Give me ten minutes… maybe fifteen,"

he added.

She gave a small laugh, "Sure."

He gave her his typical reassuring Sanders smile, before he turned to head back towards his room, "Help your self

to anything…" he called to her.

"OK, thanks," she smiled.

It was twenty minutes before he emerged from his room. Phoebe, who was sat flicking through the TV, looked up

too see he was wearing a pair of faded jeans with a T-shirt that hugged his chest in all the right places. His hair

was in its usual spiky mess, but looked good.

He stood in front of her, holding his hands out, with an expectant look on his face as if to ask her how he looked,

she smiled, standing up, "You look good," she told him, as she did she looked down at herself, "In fact you make

me look kinda shabby," she laughed nervously.

"Are you kidding, you look hot," he assured her.

She blushed slightly, smiling, looking down for a moment before looking back up at him, "Thanks," she said

quietly.

He smiled, rocking a little on his heels, "So… you ready to go?"

"Yep," she nodded.

He gave her another smile, "Cool."

It was a few hours later, and they were walking side by side down the strip having eaten in a small Italian place.

Phoebe found she was having a great time, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been on a date, and even

when she'd gone out with Chris they'd never had such a good time, or felt so relaxed.

"So," Greg began, "What do you look for in a potential boyfriend… y'know, apart from someone who's not

mentally disturbed, which by the way I'm not… and I don't have psychotic tendencies," he assured her, "… well

unless you count that time when I was 8 and I nearly blew up my Grandma Thea's cat, but that was a total

accident, I mean how was I meant to know he was hiding in the flower pot," he defended.

Phoebe laughed, "So… the cat survived this…."

"Oh yeah… though the fur on his tail never did quite grow back," he finished.

She looked up at him, "I bet Grandma Thea wasn't too happy," she laughed.

"No… though she never could stay mad at me for long," he admitted.

"Well, if you were the charmer that you are now I can understand why," she told him, looking up and smiling.

He grinned slightly, "So… you never did answer my question," he prodded.

"Hmm, OK…" she paused thinking "… well I like a guy who is smart, funny, who doesn't care that I spend my

days… or nights scraping up bits of dead bodies… someone who respects me, makes me laugh and who accepts

me for who I am… warts an all," she finished.

"Warts an all huh?" he gave her a small smile.

She smiled, nudging his arm slightly, "So how about you?"

"What do I look for in a potential boyfriend?" he raised his eyebrows.

She laughed, playfully hitting his arm, "You know what I mean."

He laughed, "Sorry… OK, well I guess, kinda the same, I need someone I can have an intellectual conversation

with, someone funny… and who laughs at my jokes… who's sweet," he glanced down at her, "Brunettes always

good…" he noticed her smile to herself, and couldn't fail to notice how cute she looked right then. He stopped

walking and placed a hand on her arm, she stopped and turned to face him, looking up toward him.

"You pretty much fit the bill," he told her,

She smiled up at him, "I do huh?"

He responded with his cute, but slightly shy smile, he reached up, tucking some hair behind her ear, his hand

remaining there, "Yeah," he replied softly, as he leaned down, brushing his lips over hers. She found herself

leaning into him, returning the kiss. After a few moments they pulled apart, smiling at each other, "So… you

wanna go catch a movie?" he asked her.

She smiled, "Yeah, that would be good,"

"Great," he replied, as the two began walking again. As they did their hands brushed a few times, after a

moments thought he gently reached for her hand, linking his pinkie finger with hers. Phoebe looked down at their

hands, smiling she looked back up at him, entwining her fingers through his.

Greg smiled at her, and she was sure she saw him blush ever so slightly.

As they arrived at the theatre Phoebe looked up at the screens, seeing what films were on, they must have been

having an old horror film night as the films on ranged from Psycho to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

"I didn't realise it was the horror film night… they have it once a month," he explained.

She glanced up at him, "Sure you didn't," she joked.

Greg looked down at her, "We can go somewhere else if you like," he suggested, though she could tell he would

rather stay there.

She smiled up at him, "No… tonight I want to see all sides to Greg Sanders," she told him.

He gave her a sly smile, "Really?"

She laughed, "Yeah… but just to warn you, I might spend most of the film hiding."

They settled on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the original version. When they walked out the movie theatre a

few hours later Greg was laughing, "I think you've damaged me," he teased rubbing his arm.

"Hey, I told you I would be hiding," she reminded him.

"You didn't mention that would be hiding in my shoulder while squeezing my arm," he pointed out.

"OK, so I should have admitted before we went in that I'm a complete wuss," she admitted.

He smiled, "OK, but tell me this, you spend all day looking round crime scenes, seeing the real thing, how come

that scares you?"

"Because I'm not watching people being chased by a Chainsaw wielding maniac!"

He laughed, "OK, OK, next time you can pick the movie,"

She smiled up at him, "OK, and you can't complain, even if I do pick some chic flick?" she questioned.

He shook his head, "Nope,"

"I'll look forward to that," she smiled, taking his hand once more, as they walked back down the strip.

Once back at his apartment complex he parked his car beside hers. They got out the car and he headed round to

hers, where she stood leaning up against his car. "So, thanks for tonight… I had a really great time," she smiled.

"Yeah, me too," he smiled.

"I'm glad I came by," she added.

He nodded, "Yeah… same here… so uh…" he trailed off.

She smiled, leaning up to press her lips to his. He leaned his body into hers, returning the kiss. He pulled back

slightly and they returned for a few smaller kisses, as he pulled back her eyes were still closed and he smiled

returning for a longer kiss. His hands, which had been on her waist moved up as he ran his fingers through her

hair. Phoebe stood up on her tip toes, gripping her arms round his back, as the kiss deepened she felt his tongue

brush over hers slightly. After a minute they both pulled away, her eyes flickering open.

He stepped back slightly, smiling down at her, "Uh… you want to come up?" he asked.

She looked up at him, "I uh… I would like to but, well, if I go up there I know what will happen, and I'm not sure…"

He cut her off, "Hey I understand, no pressure," he assured her.

She gave him an appreciative smile, "Besides… you know what the number one rule is in horror movies…" he gave

her a look, shaking his head, "Once you have sex you're a dead man," she reminded him.

He grinned, "Hey, I thought you didn't like horror films,"

"I never said that," she pointed out, as she stepped over towards her own car, leaning her back against the

door, "Um… did you maybe want to get breakfast in the morning?" she asked, "I mean just cause we're not

working… it would still be nice," as she said this she pulled her keys from her bag.

He smiled, "Yeah, sure, that would be great."

"Cool… so I'll uh, see you tomorrow…"

"Uh huh," he nodded, as he leaned down for another kiss, this time there was no need for the build up. As soon

as his lips met hers she felt herself hungrily kissing him back her keys falling from her hand. She felt his hands

move from her waist to her back, as he slipped them slightly under her t-shirt, stroking the skin on her back. Her

own hands which had started off round his neck had gradually made their way down, and were now slipped in

the rim of his jeans at his back. His body was pressed up against hers and she knew if he wasn't holding her up

then her legs wouldn't manage it. She felt his tongue snaking round hers, and tried to lean up getting even closer

to him, which was practically impossible. After a few minutes they finally and reluctantly pulled away, each of them

breathing slightly erratically.

The stared at each other for a moment, before he leaned down and placed one more light kiss on her lips, once

he pulled away he crouched down, picking her keys up from the floor, she looked down and blushed slightly, as

he stood up opening her car door for her.

As she got in the car he handed her the keys, pushing the door shut. He watched as she pulled on her seatbelt

before putting the keys in the ignition, then opening the window. She looked up at him and he leaned his elbow

in the open window, "Night… drive carefully," he told her.

"Yeah… uh, sure," she stumbled, still flustered from the kiss.

He stepped back and she looked up at him, it took every ounce of willpower not to jump out the car and head up

to his apartment with him. She gave him one last smile before closing the window, slowly pulling the car away.

Greg stood and watched her leave, his pulse was still pounding, that kiss had sent his hormones into overdrive, "I

need a cold shower," he muttered to himself, as he watched her head down the street, he turned and walked

back into the building.

As she pulled out the parking lot she couldn't get the kiss out of her head, no one had kissed her like… not even

Chris. She placed a finger up to her lips, smiling to herself as she did. As she stopped at the traffic lights she

glanced in her rear-view mirror, she could still see Greg's building and sighed. There was no one else about and

as the light changed to green she found herself doing a U-Turn in the middle of the street, "Man Phoebe what are

you doing," she muttered to herself.

As Greg got back to his apartment he found himself stood in the kitchen, he grabbed a carton of juice from the

refrigerator and drained it, hoping the ice cold drink might do something to cool him down. Once he'd finished he

threw the empty carton in the trash, it hadn't really helped, but he could feel his pulse had returned to normal. He

was headed into the living room and was about to turn the TV on, hoping to find a boring film to settle him down

when he heard a knock at the door. He frowned slightly, the only person it could possibly be had just left, and he

wasn't sure she would be back again that quickly.

He stood up and reached the door, pulling it open. Phoebe was stood on the other side, neither of them said

anything; they just stared at each other, until she stepped toward him, reaching up to kiss him. He didn't resist

and found himself pulling her closer, as they stepped back into his apartment; she kicked the door shut with her

foot.

They stumbled further back into the apartment, never breaking apart from one another. After a minute Greg

pulled away, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Phoebe… you sure about this?" he asked.

She looked up at him, nodding her head slightly, "I'm sure," with a small smile he placed his arms back round her

waist, closing the gap between them. As their lips met again she let her bag, which had been gripped in her hand,

drop to the floor. Her hands found the rim of his t-shirt, and tugged at it. He pulled back slightly, pulling it up over

his head tossing it aside, before returning to the kiss. She ran her hands down his chest, feeling every muscle

tense and relax under her hands.

His hands were under her top stroking her back, she pulled back, looking up at him as she began to pull at her

top, he took over, pulling it up over her head, where it soon joined his on the floor.

As they continued to manoeuvre throughout his apartment they came to a stop as Phoebe's back made contact

with his bedroom door, he pulled back once more staring down at her, his gaze intense, he reached up to brush

some hair from her face, as he did she reached up to take his hand, entwining her fingers with his, leaning up on

her tip toes to place a light kiss on his lips. As she stepped back he reached down, opening the door, pushing it

open, placing his hand round her back, holding her up as he brought his lips down in another crushing kiss.

They stepped back slowly into his room, never letting their kiss break off, she found herself tugging at the button

on his jeans as he turned her round, pushing the bedroom door shut.

* * *

So there it is, hope you liked it, I hope you agree that the rating it still suitable as not too much detail there, but let me know if you disagree. Please let me know what you thought, thanks for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for your reviews, and following, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9

As she slowly felt herself waking up she groaned slightly, not wanting to open her eyes. When she did she

blinked, rubbing her eyes, as she looked around she found herself frowning, not recognising the room she was in.

But it only took a few seconds before she realised where she was, remembering the previous night. She smiled

slightly, turning to look over in the bed next to her, and frowned when she saw she was alone. She sat up,

panicking for a moment, thinking maybe this was Greg's cruel way of saying last night had been a mistake. As she

sat silently, however, she heard music coming from somewhere in the apartment and smelt the faint smell of

cooking. She smiled, wanting to kick herself for even thinking Greg would just leave her there like that.

She looked around for her clothes, before remembering they had kinda been spread around, and couldn't help but

smile to herself thinking about it. After shaking herself from the replay she was enjoying in her head she looked

round and spotted the t-shirt Greg had put on yesterday when she'd first got there, it was hung over a chair in

the corner of the room. She dragged herself from his bed and pulled the shirt on over her head, it was big on her

and came to her mid thigh. She headed over, opening the door slightly, poking her head out, as she listened she

smiled hearing Greg signing along to Marilyn Manson, and headed out the room, following his voice to the kitchen.

As she reached the kitchen she saw him stood with his back to her, he was just wearing a pair of sweat pants

and cooking something.

Greg had woken fairly early, and seeing Phoebe still fast asleep beside him he decided to make her breakfast in

bed. He slowly got up, grabbing his sweats from where they were hanging over his chair he pulled them on

making his way out the room, slowly shutting the door behind him.

Once in the kitchen he put on his stereo, turning the volume down. He decided to make her French toast, which

was what she always ordered when they went for breakfast. He had been there for almost ten minutes when he

heard a noise behind him and twisted round to spot Phoebe.

"Morning," he said, giving her a smile.

At first she didn't smile back, and for one horrible moment he thought she was having regrets about last night,

then he realised she was yawning, "Morning," she managed once she'd finished, giving him a smile, as she

headed over, "Nothing like a bit of Marilyn to wake up to," she smiled.

"Oh… sorry did I wake you?" he said quickly.

"No, no…. I was already awake," she assured him. Looking over his shoulder to see what he was cooking,

"French toast," she smiled.

He grinned, "Yeah… I dunno if it'll be as good as Denny's… but I thought I'd try,"

"Well it looks good," she told him.

He smiled, taking a couple of steps closer to her, leaning his elbow on the kitchen counter, as he did so she

smiled up at him, her hand gently running down his abs then playing with the drawstring of his sweat pants. He

moved slightly closer to her, wrapping his free hand round her waist, as she leaned up placing a light kiss on his

lips. As they pulled back he smiled down at her, "Hey… isn't that my shirt?" he asked.

She glanced down, before looking back up at him, smiling, "Yeah… I uh, couldn't find most of my clothes," she

finished biting her lower lip, hiding her smile.

A smile slowly appeared on his face, "Oh… yeah, they're around here somewhere."

"Mmm," she nodded her head, reaching up for another kiss. They both smelt burning and he pulled back quickly,

looking over at the oven.

"Oh man," he complained, rushing over, "Ok, that was just a testers batch… the next lot will be great."

She laughed, "Sure."  
.

It was a little while later, and Greg was doing the washing up while Phoebe sat watching kids TV. She'd offered to

help but he'd insisted he was ok, practically forcing her into the living room.

As she sat watching Sponge Bob Square pants she heard a phone began to ring, and without even thinking

grabbed the cell phone from the table beside her, answering it, "Hello?"

"Uh, Phoebe?" came Nicks voice through the other end of the phone, "Is Greg there?"

She frowned slightly, "Uhh… why don't you try ringing his phone?"

"Uh, Pheebs I did… this _is _Greg's phone," he told her.

She pulled the phone away from her ear, looking at it, silently cursing herself as she realised he was right, she

put the phone back to her ear, "Oh… uh" she began.

"Phoebe… where are you?" Nick asked suspiciously.

She coughed nervously, "Uh… I'm uh, at home," she mumbled almost inaudibly, trying to hide the lie, "Uh, I guess

I must have picked up his phone by accident," she cringed as she realised just how lame it sounded.

"Yeah, right," he replied sarcastically.

"Have you uh… have you tried my phone, maybe he picked that up?" she tried.

"Oh yeah… why didn't I think of that," Nick said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Well… uh if I speak to him, I'll tell him you're looking for him," she tried.

"Thanks… I'll talk to you later," he said, and she could tell from the tone of his voice he was smiling.

"Sure… bye Nick," she finished, putting the phone down.

She looked up to see Greg, he had a smile on his face, as though he were trying not to laugh, "We accidentally

swapped phones?" he asked.

"What… I didn't know what to say," she replied, as he headed over sitting beside her.

He laughed, "I know… but… man that's the worst excuse."

She hit him playfully, "Hey, I was on the spot," she returned but found she was laughing too.

After they finished watching Sponge Bob, they decided they should do something with their day. So Greg got up,

and headed to the shower, while Phoebe searched round the apartment, finding her clothes.

After a few minutes she found everything, and got dressed, heading into the kitchen to grab a drink. As she got

there the phone began to ring, this time it was the home phone, and once more, without thinking she reached up

grabbing the phone from the wall, "Hello?"

"Phoebe?"

Her face fell, "Nick?"

"Busted," he laughed down the other end of the phone.

She felt her face turning a deep red colour and was just happy that he wasn't there to see it, "Uh… I uh…" she

trailed off.

"So… you manage to tell Greg I was looking for him?" he teased.

She coughed slightly, "Uh… yeah… he's uh, just in the shower…"

"Uh huh… so… can you tell him to call me?" he asked, and again she could just hear the grin in his voice.

"Sure… bye Nick,"

"Bye Pheebs," he said in an almost sing song voice.

As she put the phone down she smacked herself in the head, why didn't she just let the phone ring, she sighed, it

could have been worse she guessed, of all the people she would rather it was Nick then anyone else.

She shook her head before grabbing herself a glass of water; she stood leaning against the sink as she drained

the glass, staring out the window. She jumped as she felt Greg's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

She spun round, smiling at him, "Hey… uh… Nick phoned again… the house phone," she told him biting her lip.

He smiled, "Oh, I bet he loved that."

She gave a small laugh, "Yeah… you could say that."

"I guess I should call him back," he said, as he grabbed the phone from the wall. He dialled the number to Nicks

phone and didn't have to wait long for him to answer,

"Hello?"

"Hey Nick," Greg said.

He heard a small laugh, "Hey Greggo… how's it going?"

"Good," Greg said slowly, just knowing what was coming.

"Yeah… I guessed it might be… so uh, how's Phoebe doing?" he asked, trying not to laugh as he did.

"She's good too… Nick did you call for a reason or just to tease me?" he asked.

"No I did have a reason… that's just an added bonus," he teased.

Greg looked over at Phoebe, who was watching him, and rolled his eyes, "Thanks Nick,"

"Anytime my friend… anyways, I called to see what you were doing today, Warrick and I were gonna go watch the

game… wandered if you wanted to come?" Nick asked.

"Oh… I kinda have plans," Greg replied.

"Plans huh? That what you kids are calling it nowadays," he joked.

"Nick…" Greg began.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Nick laughed, "I'll see you at work," he told him.

"Sure… bye Nick," Greg said, before hanging up the phone. He looked over at Phoebe who was still watching him,

and smiled.

She looked down, feeling a little nervous, "I uh… I guess I should get home," she began, not wanting to get in

the way of his plans.

He stepped closer to her, "Hey… I just blew off watching the game with the guys," he said teasingly.

"But… I thought you said you had plans," she replied.

He smiled at her, "Pheebs… I meant I had plans with you… if you want to?" he asked.

She smiled back, feeling kinda stupid that she hadn't realised that's what he meant, "That sounds good… but I

actually do need to go home, just to change," she explained.

"Sure," he smiled.

.

It was later on and Phoebe was on her way to work. She was leaving early, but had planned to run over to the

diner across from the lab and grab something to eat before shift started. She'd spent most of the day with Greg;

they'd just wandered about really, looked round the shops and had some lunch. Phoebe found herself a little

unsure how to act with him, it wasn't that she was uncomfortable, she just wasn't sure if now they'd had sex

things would change between them.

As she pulled her car into the parking lot of the lab it was slowly starting to rain. She grabbed her bag from the

seat beside her and jumped as she heard someone knock on her window. Looking up she saw Greg and smiled at

him, opening the door, "Hey," she smiled, as she climbed out the car.

"Hi… you're early…" he began, as she shut the door behind her.

"Yeah… I was gonna go grab something from the diner…" she began.

He smiled, "Great minds think alike."

She smiled, "You wanna go get something?"

He nodded, "Sure… I think we'd better run though, this rain is starting to get heavier," he pointed out. She looked

up, seeing the dark rain clouds overhead, feeling the drops getting bigger, "C'mon," he said, grabbing her hand,

and they ran across the road together rushing into the diner and under cover.

They were both fairly wet once they got inside and as they sat at a booth in the corner Phoebe pulled her jacket

off, before sliding into the seat beside Greg.

After fifteen minutes they had ordered and already had their food, "Hey, you realise we've had breakfast, lunch

and dinner together today," Greg noted.

She smiled, looking across at him, "Yeah… I noticed that too," she said quietly.

He glanced across at her, she looked, he wasn't sure if it was nervous or… "Pheebs you okay?"

She looked up, "Yeah… I'm fine, really I just…I guess… oh it's nothing don't worry," she blushed slightly looking

back down.

He paused, before reaching over to take her hand, which was busy twirling a fry round her plate, she looked up

at him, "Pheebs… listen, I know last night… well we maybe shouldn't have gone as far as we did and…"

"Oh, no Greg its not that," she cut him off smiling, "Really, last night was great, and I wouldn't have gone back to

yours if I hadn't wanted to, its just… this is gonna sound kinda dumb but," she stopped and turned herself in the

seat so she was facing him. She took a breath, "Well, the truth is, for the last three years I've been with the

same guy and… well this whole dating thing, I've kinda forgotten how it goes… and I feel a bit… out of my

depth…." She looked slightly embarrassed.

He smiled, "Phoebe… you know I'm not a dating expert myself, and we'll just go with the flow, y'know?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I just, I was just being stupid I guess."

"It's not stupid," he smiled, leaning down to give her a light kiss. As they pulled away he brushed the back of his

hand over her face, "So… we ok?"

She smiled, "Yeah."

.

Nick was stood in the locker room, throwing his things in before the start of shift, it was early for him to be there

but that wasn't unusual.

"Hey Nick," he heard Warrick and looked up to see him heading into the locker room.

"Hey Warrick… you're early too huh?" Nick spoke.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry though, was thinking of heading over to Denny's to get a burger, you wanna come?"

Warrick asked, as he opened his own locker.

"Sounds good to me," Nick replied.

Ten minutes later and the two were stood at the counter ordering food to take back with them.

"Hey Nick, isn't that Greg, and Phoebe?" Warrick asked, looking over to the corner booth, where the two were

sat.

Nick looked over and smiled to himself, "Looks like."

Warrick glanced across at Nick and couldn't fail to notice the big smile on his face, "Hey man, there something

you're not telling me?"

"What? No … I mean, it's not my place to say…" Nick tried.

Warrick looked back over at Phoebe and Greg, just in time to see them kiss, he whipped his gaze back to Nick,

"Since when were they going out?" he questioned.

Nick shrugged, "Got me," he replied as they took their order, which had now arrived.

"You're a terrible liar man," Warrick shook his head, throwing one last glance toward the couple before he and

Nick left.

.

As Phoebe and Greg arrived at the lab together they went straight to the locker room, then the break room,

where they found Nick and Warrick just finishing up some food.

"Hey guys," Phoebe smiled, though trying not to make eye contact with Nick. Greg said his hello too as he sat

down beside Warrick.

As Phoebe sat next to Greg she noticed the bag on the table was from Denny's, meaning Nick and Warrick had

been in there, she cringed wandering if they'd seen her with Greg, but shrugged it aside, deciding it didn't matter.

"So… you guys enjoy your day off?" Nick asked, trying to make the question sound as casual as he could, but

failing.

Greg shot him a look, "Yeah, it was good," he said.

"How about you Phoebe?" Warrick asked.

"Oh, uh… mine was good too;" she smiled, hoping her cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

"So," Nick began turning to Phoebe, "Pheebs, what you get up to?"

Phoebe's gaze whipped round to him, and she gave him a look, which he could easily interpret as say anymore

and I'll kill you, "Just stuff," she replied.

Nick nodded his head, trying to keep a straight face, "Sounds fun."

"It was," she replied through gritted teeth.

"So, uh guys," Greg spoke up, trying to change the subject, "How was the game?"

"You missed a good one Greggo," Nick returned.

"Yeah, what were you doing anyway man?" Warrick asked.

Greg silently cursed himself for having used that stupid question to change the subject, "Oh, I uh…" he began, but

was saved when Catherine and Sara walked into the room, "Hey guys," Catherine began, "Grissom's with Ecklie,

asked me to hand out the cases," she told them.

Greg groaned as he realised he was working with Nick and Warrick, Nick gave him a sideways glance grinning.

"Should be a fun shift Greggo," he joked.

"I'm sure," he muttered as the three walked out the break room and out to the parking lot.

Phoebe watched them go, smiling to herself, she knew they would rib Greg all night.

"You ready?" Catherine asked Phoebe.

"Sure," she smiled, as they too headed out to their cars.  
.

As they arrived at the scene they found their db was a 3 year old female. Both the woman sighed, "Sometimes I

hate this job," Phoebe muttered.

Catherine nodded as Detective Vartan headed over, "Hey," he said.

"What happened?" Catherine questioned.

"Victim is 3 year old Cassie Masters, Mother is Janice Masters, says she was in the kitchen, heard a banging ran

out and found her at the bottom of the stairs," he explained.

Phoebe looked over to where a young, distraught looking woman was sat with an officer, "That her?"

"Yeah," Vartan nodded.

"Ok, I'll go talk to her, Phoebe, you take the body," Catherine said.

"Sure," Phoebe nodded and headed over to where David was knelt down beside the body.

He looked up, "Hi Phoebe," he said.

"Hey David," she replied crouching down beside him, looking over the body, shaking her head.

"Always harder with the kids huh," David spoke up.

"Yeah… she's the same age as my niece…" she sighed, staring at the young girl, who resembled her brother's

daughter.

"The paramedics didn't move the body, they said she was already dead when they got here," David began.

"Got a TOD?" she asked.

"Yeah, liver temp puts TOD at around 3 hours ago," he explained.

"3 hours?" She looked up at him.

He nodded, "Yeah, I didn't think it was right so I double checked, its definitely right," he assured her.

"Ok… thanks David," she smiled at him, looking over to where Catherine was talking to the mother and frowned

to herself.

Once she had taken pictures of the body Catherine had finished talking to the mother and headed over, "What

did she say?" Phoebe asked.

"Same story, she was in the kitchen, making dinner when she heard a crash, came out and found Cassie lying at

the bottom of the stairs, she grabbed the phone and dialled 911," Catherine told her.

"Well, she's lying… David says TOD is approximately 3 hours ago," Phoebe explained.

"What?" Catherine asked, "Well then there's no way her story checks out," Catherine looked over at the woman,

"I'll get Vartan to take her in, we'll question her later,"

Phoebe nodded, "Yeah… something tells me Cassie didn't die from falling down the stairs,"

Catherine nodded grimly, "Yeah… I'll start processing the rest of the house."  
.

"Mrs Masters, I know you've been through this before, but I need you to tell me what happened tonight,"

Detective Vartan said to the woman sat across the table.

"I told you, I was in the kitchen, Cassie was playing in her room, I was making some dinner, it was late for dinner

but we'd been out so," she stopped to wipe away at some tears, her voice was shaky. "Well I heard a noise… a

crash and I called Cassie's name, when she didn't reply I headed out to see what had happened, and that's

when I saw her…" her voice broke, "She… she was just lying there, so still…." She broke off as fresh tears fell

down her cheeks, "I'm sorry."

"Mrs Masters… when did you call 911? Phoebe questioned.

"Straight away…" she said looking up.

"Now you see this is where I'm confused," Phoebe began, "You say you called them straight away, but the

coroner puts Cassie's time of death at approximately 6pm… so either your lying, or the paramedics took almost 3

hours to arrive," Phoebe told her.

"What… but I… I'm not lying…" the woman tried.

"So what did you do for 2 and a half hours?" Vartan asked her.

"I, uh…" she stuttered.

"I'll tell you what you did… you tried to come up with a good story, then when you'd thought of one you set up

the scene, got some things out in the kitchen to make it look like you were cooking dinner, placed Cassie at the

bottom of the stairs, then called 911," Phoebe told her.

"What? That's not true, I didn't…" she tried to defend herself.

"Did you ever hurt your daughter Mrs Masters?" she asked.

"No, I never hurt her," she spoke forcefully.

Phoebe nodded, trying to keep her cool with the woman when all she wanted to do was yell at her, "The autopsy

on your daughter showed signs of abuse… old fractures, bruising…" she trailed off.

"That was my husband… I never hurt her, I loved her," the woman insisted.

"Your husband died 3 months ago is that right?" the detective asked.

She nodded, "Yes."

Phoebe opened a file, taking some pictures out, autopsy pictures of Cassie, she pushed them across the table

toward the woman, "These bruises are less then 3 months old… there's no way your husband could have caused

these," she explained.

The woman looked at her, her tears now all gone, "I… I want a lawyer," she said.

Phoebe looked across at her, "Sure you do," she said coldly, standing up, grabbing the photos before leaving the

room.

.

Phoebe found herself in the lab, going over the victim's clothes, looking for anything else to insinuate the mother.

She sighed to herself, as much as she loved her job she found it really hard when dealing with any sort of child

death, but ones where it looked like abuse, it always got to her.

"Hey," she heard a voice in the doorway, and knew who it was before she looked up.

"Greg," she replied with a half hearted smile.

"I heard about your case… how you holding up?" he asked as he walked into the room.

She looked up at him, smiling, "Ok I guess… "

"You sure?" he didn't sound convinced.

She shrugged, "No… but I got a job to so…"

He stared at her for a moment, before nodding, "You know if you wanna talk…"

She smiled at him, "Thanks Greg… I might take you up on that offer," she replied.

He gave her a smile back, "Good… I gotta go, see if Hodges has got my results… I'll see you later," he said.

"Sure," she returned as he headed for the door, "Oh and Greg…"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she smiled.

He just gave her a smile, pausing before leaving the room.

.

She stood watching as the two officers took the handcuffed Janice Masters away.

The evidence they had was more then enough to arrest her for abusing and murdering Cassie.

She sighed, not really feeling the satisfaction she usually got from solving the case. She turned to look at

Catherine who gave her a small smile, "Ok, I've gotta get home to Lindsey," she told her.

"Sure… see you tonight," Phoebe replied, giving her a small smile as she watched her head down the corridor.

She turned back to see as the cops walked their suspect round the corner and disappeared. She couldn't help but

feel like although they'd arrested Janice Masters, and had more then enough evidence making it highly likely they

would get a conviction, they should have been able to do more, more for Cassie…

"Phoebe?" Grissom's voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up at him, "Oh, hey Griss," she smiled.

"Cath said you guys got an arrest," he said.

She nodded, "Yeah… it was the, uh mother."

Grissom paused, looking at her, "Phoebe, go home… your shift finished two hours ago," he told her.

She gave him a small smile, nodding, "Yeah… uh… do you know if Greg's still around?"

"He, Warrick and Nick finished up their case and left about a half hour ago I think," he told her.

"Ok… thanks, I'll uh, see you tonight," she smiled, as she turned and headed down the corridor.

.

As Greg poured himself a glass of OJ he leaned back against the counter. He hadn't managed to see Phoebe

again that shift and hoped she was Ok. Some cases were never easy to deal with, and child abuse cases were

definitely hard to deal with.

He put the juice back in the refrigerator, before draining his glass. He carried it over to the sink and dropped it in;

he'd get it later.

As he headed toward the living room he stopped hearing a light tapping at his door. He paused, wandering if he

was maybe imagining it, but when a second later he heard the tap again he headed over toward the door, pulling

it open.

"Phoebe," he smiled, stepping aside to let her in.

"Hey," she said with a small smile, "I hope I didn't wake you… I tried to knock quietly," she said as she stepped

into the apartment.

"No… I was still up," he assured her, leaning down to place a light kiss on her cheek.

As she threw her bag down, kicking off her shoes Greg closed the door, "I was trying to think of a good reason to

just turn up… I couldn't really think of one, other then I wanted to see you," she finished, looking up at him.

He stood in front of her, rubbing his hands over her arms, "Sounds like a good reason to me," he said quietly.

She leaned her head against his chest, her hands on his hips, sighing. Greg stroked a hand over her hair, leaning

down placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head, "You get her?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah… still doesn't feel right though… I mean it doesn't do Cassie any good," she sighed.

He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist, "You did everything you could for her," he tried.

She sighed again, "I know… " She looked up at him, "I won't be forgetting this one for a while," she told him.

He brushed a hand over her face, she leaned up toward him, pressing her lips to his, for a brief kiss. She pulled

back looking up at him, he brushed the hair from her neck, placing a kiss on her forehead, before leaning down to

kiss her again. She responded, stepping up on her tip toes, her arms wrapping round his neck.

After a few minutes they pulled back, and she looked up, giving him a small smile, "Although this is helping."

He gave a small laugh, "Well… I do like to help," he smiled, leaning down to kiss her once more.

.

The sounds of the alarm caused her to stir, when it failed to stop beeping she groaned and reached her arm over

trying to stop the noise. She banged around trying to find it. As she opened her eyes, she saw Greg leaning over

her to turn off the alarm, "Hey," he smiled leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

"Mmm," she murmured, turning to bury her head into the pillow.

"We gotta get up," he told her.

"Mmm," she moaned again.

He smiled, brushing a hand over her hair, "C'mon Pheebs," he tried again.

She looked up at him, stifling a yawn, "We have to?" she asked.

He smiled, "You know I'd rather stay here with you… but we gotta get ready for work," he replied, looking down

at her.

"Yeah, I know," she grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

He smiled, giving her one more kiss before getting out of bed, Phoebe sat up slightly, watching him, "I'm gonna

jump in the shower," he told her.

She nodded, holding back a yawn, "Ok, I'm just gonna run out to my car, get some clean clothes,"

"Sure, my keys are on the counter in the kitchen, let yourself back in," he returned.

She nodded, smiling at him as he headed into his en suite bathroom; she sat there for a moment more before

finally pulling herself out of the bed.

* * *

There it is, hope you enjoyed it. And don't worry, there will be more drama coming up soon! Thanks again and please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Hi guys, thank you again for all your reviews, hope you enjoy the next instalment.

* * *

Chapter 10

Greg quickly sat up in bed, his sleep being disturbed by the sound of a loud monkey screeching. He looked

around in a panic, wondering where the hell he was, his heart was beating quickly, his eyes darting around

the room.

Once he noticed the sounds of the monkey had stopped he heard a quiet giggling sound, as his eyes focused

he looked down to see Phoebe lying in bed beside him.

She couldn't help but smile at just how cute he looked, his hair, which was normally styled to look messy was

now just stuck in every which direction and he had a look of pure and utter confusion on his face.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, as he remembered where he was.

She pointed over at her alarm clock, "I've been lying here for half an hour waiting for it to go off," she told him

with a small laugh.

He raised his eyebrows, "And you didn't think to warn me… or switch it off?"

She grinned, "And miss that reaction? No way… besides you looked really cute…"

He smiled down at her, "You know you're not as innocent as I first thought."

She gave him a mischievous smile, "I never said I was innocent."

"Yeah… I'm starting to see that," he smiled, laying himself back down, his head resting on the pillow beside

her.

She grinned, "C'mon… we gotta get up, get to work," she told him.

He groaned, wrapping an arm round her waist, pulling her closer to him, "We have to?"

She laughed, "Yes."

"Man… I hate getting up in the afternoon," he sighed.

She smiled, "This makes a change, usually its you dragging me out of bed…"

"Yeah, we'll have to take it in turns to get each other up," he replied.

"I could set my alarm off again?" she tried.

He sat up, "Ok, ok, I'm up."

She laughed, "Thought that might work."

.

The past few weeks they had fallen into a pattern of spending their nights together at work, and days taking it

in turns to sleep at each others. Phoebe was feeling pretty happy with how things were going, and found she

rarely ever thought about her ex. It helped she hadn't seen him at work, and was sure Brass had something

to do with it. They still hadn't told anyone about their relationship, though she knew some of them knew.

.  
It was an hour or so later and they were both walking out her apartment block to their cars. Greg had parked

his car besides hers that morning, and as they got to them he gave a quick kiss, before they both jumped into

their cars.

As Phoebe turned the key her car made a choking sound as it tried to start. She groaned, and waited a

moment before turning the key again, hoping it might start, but again it just make a choking sound as the

engine tried to start but failed.

She looked across at Greg, who was still sat in his car watching her. She got out the car, as he got out his, "It

won't start… it was fine this morning," she told him.

"Pop the hood," he told her, "It might be something simple,"

After having a quick look, they were unable to figure out what was wrong.

She shrugged, "Well we haven't really got time to do anything now… I'll get someone to come take a look at it

tomorrow… can I ride with you?"

"Of course," he smiled.

"Let me just grab my kit," she said.

.

That night Phoebe was working with Nick, they were in his car on their way to their crime scene, a DB in a

motel room downtown, when Nick couldn't help but say, "So… you and Greg coming in together now huh?"

Phoebe looked across at him and could see he was grinning to himself, "Yes… but I told you my car wouldn't

start, so Greg gave me a ride," she explained.

"Oh, so you uh, called him and asked him to pick you up?" he prodded.

She rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was trying to get at, "No… he was already at mine… but I'm sure

you already knew that," she said.

He gave a small laugh, "No… I was just wondering… that's all,"

"Whatever Nicky… I'm starting to get to know you pretty well by now… you know it would be easier if you just

came right out and asked me."

"Ok… are you and Greg dating?" he questioned.

She paused, "Yeah… I guess we are… I mean… we've been out on dates…. and… you know… stay at each

others…" she finished the last bit kinda quietly.

He smiled, glancing across at her, "Phoebe you know I'm just teasing, I'm happy for you guys," he assured

her.

She smiled at him, "Thanks Nick… you uh, wont say anything to anyone else though will you… I mean its just

that, well I don't know if dating a colleague is something we could get into trouble for…"

"I wouldn't have thought so… I mean its not really ideal, but as long as it doesn't affect your work I don't think

it should be a problem… but I wont say anything to anyone," he finished.

"Thank you," she smiled.

.

Greg was back at the lab with some evidence to go through, he was working with Catherine that night and

she was still out at the crime scene. He headed into the AV lab looking for Archie, instead he found Warrick.

"Hi Warrick," he said, causing the other man to look up from the screen.

"Greg, hey," Warrick replied.

"You seen Archie?"

"He's on break," Warrick told him.

"Ok, thanks," Greg said, turning to leave.

"So you and Phoebe riding in together now?" he heard Warrick, and turned back to see him smiling to himself.

"Oh… uh, yeah, her car wouldn't start," Greg explained.

Warrick nodded, "Sure… so what, did you swing by hers on the way in?"

Greg stopped, looking at Warrick, taking in the grin on his face, "You been talking to Nick?"

Warrick laughed, "Maybe."

"I should have known he couldn't stay quiet," Greg cursed.

"C'mon Greg, what did you expect, we know Nick can't lie," Warrick reminded him. "So, you two an item now

then?" he prodded.

Greg paused, "I guess, we haven't really talked about it," he admitted.

Warrick gave him a smile, "Well, I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks," Greg gave him a small smile, turning to leave, before pausing and turning back to Warrick, "Hey, you

wont say anything, will you?"

"I'll keep quiet," he assured him, "And you know I'll do a better job then Nick."

Greg gave him a small smile before finally turning and heading back out into the corridor.

.

Nick and Phoebe were at the crime scene for nearly 3 hours before they headed back to the lab with all their

evidence ready to process.

"I'll take the swabs we got straight to Mia," Phoebe said as they walked through reception.

"You're only doing that so I have to take the trace," Nick complained,

Phoebe laughed, "Aww, come on Nick, I know how much you like to go see Hodges… besides he's getting

better I think, well he's nicer to me now then he used to be," she said.

"That's only because he's trying to flirt with you," Nick teased.

Phoebe nudged him, "Shut up," she laughed.

They both stopped as they saw someone step in front of them blocking their path, looking up they saw it was,

"Chris," Phoebe sighed, she knew he would show his face again, she'd just been hoping it wouldn't be

any time soon.

"You and Stokes now?" Chris asked, looking at the two.

"Man, you really need to leave," Nick spoke up.

"It's ok Nick," Phoebe said, glancing at him before turning back to Chris, "Unless you have a reason to talk to

me then I'm gonna go get on with my work," she said, stepping around him. Nick did the same and followed

Phoebe as she continued down the hallway.

"We will talk about this Phoebe," Chris called after her.

She ignored him, carrying on into the lab, "You ok?" Nick asked as they rounded the corner and out of Chris's

sight.

"Yeah," she told him, giving him a small smile, "I'm not gonna let him get to me anymore," she replied.

"Good for you," Nick smiled.

.

It was almost 3 am, Nick and Phoebe had been working on the case, and were now waiting for the results

from DNA and trace before they could go any further, so decided to take a break.

As they got into the break room Nick headed straight for the refrigerator, pulling out a sandwich and a can of

soda before sitting down.

Phoebe poured herself some coffee, yawning slightly, she'd left her bag in her locker, which had the candy bar

she'd been craving all shift, "I'll be back in a sec," she told Nick, placing her cup on the table, "Just gonna go

get my bag… make sure no one steals that," she told him.

"Sure," he smiled, watching her go. As he began to eat his sandwich he looked up to see Greg walk in the

room, "Hey Greg."

"Hey," Greg replied, "Phoebe not with you?" he asked.

Nick nodded through his mouthful, "She just went to get her bag," he told him once he'd swallowed the piece

of sandwich.

"Thanks," Greg smiled, heading out the room.

Nick smiled, laughing quietly to himself.

.

As Phoebe pulled her locker open she looked to see where she'd thrown her bag, and jumped as she felt a

pair of hands cover her eyes. Smiling to herself she reached her own hands up to the ones over her eyes,

"Hey Greg."

"How did you know it was me?" he asked as she turned round to face him, his hands found hers, where they

rested at their sides.

"Easy… no one else touches me like that," she smiled.

He raised his eyebrows, "Really?" he grinned.

"Yeah…" she returned, wanting to kiss him, but remembering they were still at work.

"So, did you wanna stay at mine tonight, or should I say tomorrow?" he asked her.

"Sure… oh wait, I need to go home and get someone to come sort my car out," she remembered.

He nodded, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

"But uh… you can stay at mine?" she questioned.

He smiled, "Sounds good to me… but you won't wake me up with that alarm clock again though right?"

She laughed; "Maybe…" he raised his eyebrows, "Ok, I'll wake you up some other way."

He wriggled his eyebrows, "I'll look forward to that."

"Greg," she laughed, hitting him playfully, "C'mon, lets go back to the break room… before you start getting

any ideas in your head," she joked.

"I don't know what you mean," he replied innocently as she turned to grab her bag, before shutting the locker.

"Yeah… I'm sure," she returned as they headed out the locker room, they were stopped by Chris who was

stood just outside the doorway. He had a look on his face that gave Phoebe the impression he'd just watched

everything between her and Greg, "Chris… I thought I told you to leave," she tried.

"Yeah… and now I know why," he replied coldly, looking from her to Greg, "I wonder what your boss would say

about the two of you."

"Hey… what goes on between us is none of your business," Greg spoke up, stepping forward slightly, so he

was in-between Phoebe and Chris.

Phoebe placed a hand on his arm, "Its ok Greg… why don't you head to the break room, I'll be there in a

minute," she told him. He looked back at her, not convinced,

"Phoebe…"

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

Greg looked back at Chris before returning his look to Phoebe, "Ok, but if you're not there soon I'm coming

back to get you," he told her.

She gave him a small smile, "Ok."

"You better not do anything," he warned Chris before he walked slowly down the hall, taking one last look

back at them before he turned the corner.

Phoebe watched him go before turning back to Chris, "What are you doing?"

"Me? What am I doing? My god Phoebe… I never thought you were such a slut," he spat.

"What?" She was shocked.

"Oh come on, you were all over him… "he sneered.

"Get over yourself!" she threw back.

He stared at her, "I can't believe you're having sex with him… having sex with another man… Sanders of all the

people."

"What I do is none of your damn business, you lost all rights to my personal life when you started screwing

around behind my back," she shot back, turning to walk past him, he tried to grab her arm, but she pulled it

away angrily, "Not this time," she threw over her shoulder as she stormed away.

Chris watched her go, he could feel his cheeks burning red with anger, he stared for a moment longer before

turning and storming off in the opposite direction.

.

Once Phoebe had convinced both Nick and Greg that she was ok, and that seeing Chris hadn't bothered her

they finally let her get back to work and dropped the subject.

Her and Nick were looking over their crime scene photos, trying to decipher all the evidence. The sounds of

Phoebe's pager caused them to stop, as she looked down, "Its Hodges," she said looking up at Nick.

He laughed, shaking his head, "Man, I knew he'd page you… I told you he likes you Phoebe, maybe I should

warn Greg he has some competition" he teased.

"Whatever Nick," she muttered as the two headed out the room toward Hodges lab, Nick just laughed to

himself.

.

It was now morning, and they should have finished their shift a few hours ago, but were struggling to get

enough evidence together to get a warrant for their one and only suspect's DNA.

They went back into the lab to look over the evidence they already had, and had been there for a while when

Grissom came in,

"Hey guys, Brass told me about your case," he said.

"Yeah, we're just trying to see if we can find anything against this guy to get us a warrant for his DNA," Nick

said.

Grissom looked down at his watch, it was almost midday, "Listen, go home, get some sleep, come back later

and look over it with fresh eyes," he told them.

"Griss…" Phoebe began.

"It's not a question… you'll be better after some sleep," he told them.

They both nodded, "Okay boss," Nick spoke up.

"I'll see you tonight," Grissom said before leaving the room.

Phoebe turned to look at Nick, "I guess we should go home then,"

Nick nodded, "Yeah… you want a ride?" he asked.

"Oh… yeah, I forgot about my car," she sighed, "Oh… uh, I need to call Greg too," she remembered he was

going to come over.

"Sure, I'll put the evidence back," he told her standing up.

"I can help," she offered as she too stood up.

He smiled, "Its ok, you call Greg, it won't take me long," he assured her.

She gave him an appreciative smile as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket.

.  
It was twenty minutes later and Nick was dropping Phoebe off at her apartment, "Thanks Nick," she smiled, as

she grabbed her kit from out the car.

"No problem," he smiled.

"I'll see you later," she said as she shut the door.

"Yeah, bye Phoebe," he called through the open window, watching for a moment as she headed toward the

entrance before he pulled his car out the parking lot.

.

She headed up the stairs, trying to pull her keys from her bag with her spare hand, as she got to her level she

headed down the hall, finally managing to pull the keys from her bag, she looked up as she reached her door

and stopped. The door was open, and there were clear signs of forced entry, she put her bag and kit on the

floor, pulling her cell phone from her pocket, quickly dialling Nicks number, he answered after a couple of rings,

"Stokes," came his voice though the phone.

"Nick… its me," she said in a hushed voice.

"Phoebe? Is everything ok?" he asked.

"No… someone's broken into my apartment… I don't know if they're still here or…" she trailed off.

"What… listen just hang tight, I'm coming back ok?" he told her.

"Thank you Nick," she replied.

"Ok… I won't be long," he promised, as he hung up the phone.

She placed her phone back in her pocket and slowly pulled her gun from the holster, she knew she should wait

for Nick, but for some reason she wanted to get in there, find out if there was someone there or not.

She slowly pushed the door open and peered in, it was dark, which wasn't surprising as she'd left all the

drapes closed the night before, she slowly headed down the hall into the living room, she had her gun held

out in front of her.

As she reached the living room she stopped, seeing the culprit sat on the sofa, clearly waiting for her,

"Chris?" she asked in disbelief.

* * *

So... there it is, what do you guys think? Hope you're still enjoying the story, please review :)


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for your reviews, sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger, but here is the next chapter, and its extra long for you too.

* * *

Chapter 11

_She slowly pushed the door open and peered in, it was dark, which wasn't surprising as she'd left all the drapes_

closed the night before, she slowly headed down the hall into the living room, she had her gun held out in front of

her.

As she reached the lying room she stopped, seeing the culprit sat on the sofa, clearly waiting for her,

"Chris?" she asked in disbelief.

He stood up; his own gun held in his hand, "You might wanna put that down," he told her, looking at her gun.

"You think I'm gonna do that?" she asked.

"Come on Pheebs… we both know you won't use it, now just put it down," he repeated. She stood still,

keeping her gun aimed at him, trying to hide the fact that her hands were shaking. He gave a small, almost

sinister laugh, as he stepped closer to her,

"Chris don't," she warned, holding her gun up higher.

"Phoebe, I know you won't fire that gun, now just put it down," he instructed.

"No," she shook her head, though her voice was quiet, and not as confident as she had wanted it to sound.

"How about if I put mine down?" he asked, his voice sounding gentler, almost like he was talking to a

child. He lowered his gun, placing it on the coffee table, "Come on Phoebe, this isn't how you want it to

go," he told her.

She hesitated, looking at his gun, she didn't want to fire her gun, she'd only ever done it a couple of times

before. After a pause she shakily placed her gun back in its holster, "What do you want?" she asked

slowly.

He gave another small laugh, "Phoebe, do you even need to ask," he began walking closer to her.

She unconsciously stepped backwards trying to get further away from him, "Please Chris, can't you just

let this go," she tried.

"Let it go?" he asked in disbelief, "Phoebe, first you have me suspended from my job… then you become

this whore… having sex with a pathetic excuse for a man like Sanders," he spat, "And you just want me to

let it go? You make me look like a fool in front of my colleagues, you treat me like an idiot… you think

after three years… after all I did for you…" he was shouting now, she had never seen him like this, there

was nothing in his eyes that she recognised as the man she'd once loved.

"Chris please," she tried, her voice breaking, as she took more steps back, finally making contact with the

wall.

"Please? Please?" he shouted, "It's a little late for that now!"

She felt the tears pushing at the corners of her eyes, "I never wanted this," she said quietly, "What

happened to you?"

"Me… you're the one who's changed Phoebe, since you moved here… I don't know you anymore," he told

her.

If it wasn't for the situation she was in she could have laughed, he was talking about himself, not her, he

was the one who had changed, "Listen, just calm down and we'll talk about it," she tried to reason with

him.

"Now you wanna talk about it, now you haven't got any of you CSI buddies to protect you," he laughed,

"They can't do anything to help you now," he told her, his voice now cold, void of any emotion.

As he took another step, closing the gap between them she reached down to grab for her gun, but he was

too quick, diving forward he grabbed her arm, twisting it round behind her, she let out a cry as the pain

shot though her arm. He slammed her up against the wall as she tried to struggle from his grip; he

slammed her into it once more, her head making a loud crack as it hit the wall. She blinked a few times,

trying to stay focused, she reached her spare arm round, scratching at his face, he loosened his grip as he

yelled out in pain. She used the opportunity to pull away, trying to dive for her gun, which had been

thrown across the floor in the scuffle.

Chris didn't give her a chance as he dived out, grabbing her leg, casing her to fall to the floor with a loud

thud, before she knew it he was on top of her, she felt his fist make contact with her face, and tried to turn

away as he continued his assault on her.

She could feel the tears now flowing freely as she tried desperately to push him off of her, but he was

bigger and stronger then she was. She reached up, scratching at his face once more, it worked to distract

him again and she rolled over, trying to crawl away, but he was quick. He stood and began to kick her in

the abdomen, and she found herself curling up into a ball, trying to protect herself. Her head felt heavy

and the pain was running throughout her body.

But then she heard the one thing that gave her hope, she heard her name being called, and knew it was

Nick, she tried to call out his name, but her voice was quiet.

Chris having heard Nick's voice panicked. He quickly knelt down, grabbing the gun from the floor, using

the butt he hit her hard on the head, watching as she fell unconscious. Then he stood up and ran for the

fire escape, praying he would be out before Nick got there.

.

As he rushed up the stairs to her apartment he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong, and he

quickened his pace. As he reached her level he opened the door into the hallway, and he saw her case and

bag on the floor by her door. He suddenly panicked, knowing she must have gone inside, he broke into a

run, calling her name as he did so. He heard some banging coming from inside the apartment and tried to

go faster.

Finally reaching the door he pulled his gun from his place at his hip, and slowly pushed open the door,

calling her name out once more. When he got no reply he pushed the door aside and headed in slowly,

reaching the living room he stopped, the sight that greeted him caused him to freeze, but only for a

second. Phoebe was laying on the floor, curled up in a ball, "Oh my god," he muttered to himself as he

rushed over to her side, putting his gun back. Part of him knew he should check that the suspect was

gone, but he had to help Phoebe first.

As he reached her he knelt down, he could see her face looked swollen and bloody, and there was blood

spatter on the floor next to her head. He checked for a pulse and let out the breath he hadn't even realised

he was holding when he felt it beating.

"Phoebe? Can you hear me?" he asked, as he noticed her eyes flicker slightly. She made a small groaning

noise and her eyes opened a tiny fraction, "Hey, it's me," he said, "Everything's gonna be alright," he

soothed, taking her hand, squeezing it slightly, just to let her know he was there.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, dialling 911. His eyes never left her, as her eyes closed once more,

and she drifted back into unconsciousness.

.

The ambulance had arrived within 5 minutes, though to Nick it had felt like much much longer. As he now sat in

the back with Phoebe the paramedic was busy checking her vital signs, while trying to get venous access.

"Phoebe?" the paramedic asked, as he noticed her eyes opened slowly.

She looked up at him, before looking around her, confused, as she spotted Nick she opened her mouth, trying

to speak but no sound came out. "Phoebe?" he asked.

"Nick…" she said in less then a whisper, and he leaned in closer to hear her, "I… he…" she tried, but her head

was so cloudy she couldn't think of what she was trying to say.

"Hey, it's ok, don't worry," Nick began, reaching out for her hand, "Just relax for now," he soothed.

"But… Chris…" she managed to say.

Nick felt his body tighten, though every part of him had believed it was Chris, to hear her say it made him feel

so angry, livid even, but he tried to remain calm for her sake, "Sshh, don't think about that for now, just relax,"

he hushed her.

She stared at him, trying to stay awake, wanting to tell him what had happened, but she couldn't, her head

was too heavy and she felt her eyes closing.

.

As soon as Phoebe had been wheeled into one of the trauma rooms Nick pulled his phone from his pocket,

walking down the corridor, pacing. He dialled the numbers and waited for the phone to ring, instead he heard

Greg's voice as the phone went straight onto the answer phone. Sighing he hung up, and dialled another

number, this time he got the ringing. After just 4 rings he heard a voice on the other end answer the phone,

"Grissom."

"Hey Griss… its me," he said.

"Nick? What's wrong, I thought I sent you home," Grissom said.

"You did, but uh… I'm at Desert Palms…" he began.

"What's happened?" Grissom immediately asked.

"Its Phoebe… she was attacked, beaten pretty badly, we just got here, the doctors are working on her now,"

he explained.

"How serious is it Nick?"

"I… I don't know… she was unconscious when I found her…"

Grissom could hear the anguish in his voice, "I'll be right there," he told him.

"Thanks Griss… oh and I tried to get hold of Greg, can you try him?" Nick asked.

"Greg?" Grissom questioned.

Nick sighed, this wasn't the best time to break to his boss that two of his CSI's were dating, but he couldn't

really lie, "Uh, yeah, Greg and Phoebe are kinda seeing each other," he told him.

"Oh… ok…" Grissom began.

"Listen, Griss I better go in case they come to tell me how she is," Nick spoke up.

"Of course, I'll get hold of Greg, and I'll be there soon," he replied.

"Thanks," Nick said, before he hung up the phone. He sighed to himself as he put his phone back in his pocket,

looking round he spotted some chairs against the wall, and headed over, sitting down hard, he sat and

waited.

.

As Greg stood waiting for his order to be filled he pulled out his phone, dialling the familiar numbers. He

listened as it rang and rang, before her heard her answer phone, smiling at the sound of her voice, he waited

for the beep and began speaking, "Hey Pheebs, you had better get out that shower soon cause I'm on my

way over, and I got something for you. Anyway, I'll see you in a minute," he hesitated before finishing, "Bye

baby," he smiled to himself before putting the phone back in his pocket. He looked up to see the guy handing

him his drinks in a tray, "Thanks," he smiled, taking them, as he headed out the door to his car.

As he reached his car he placed the drinks on the roof, rooting through his pocket for his keys, but stopped as

he felt his phone vibrate before starting to ring, he stopped looking for his keys and pulled his phone out,

expecting it to be Phoebe, but looking at the screen saw it was Grissom.

"Hey Griss," he answered.

"Greg, I'm on way to the Desert Palms, I need you to meet me there," Grissom told him.

Greg tried to hold back his sigh, "I just finished, I'm getting some coffee…" he trailed off, knowing if his boss

needed him at work he would have to go.

"Uh, this isn't work Greg, Phoebe's been taken into the ER," he told him.

Greg felt as though all the air had suddenly been sucked from his lungs, "What? Why? What happened? Is she

ok?" he asked all at once.

"I don't know much, Nick just called me… he's there with her, he said she was attacked…"

At this Greg cut him off, "Attacked? But she was on her way home… unless… Chris," he suddenly thought,

anger surging throughout him.

"Greg, we don't know anything yet," Grissom told him, "Just get yourself to the hospital."

"Yeah, I'm going now," Greg said, trying to remain calm.

"I'll see you there," Grissom retuned.

Greg didn't reply, he quickly closed his phone, shoving it back in his pocket, fumbling for his keys. His hands

were shaking which didn't help, his mind was in overdrive, he was worried, Grissom didn't say how she was,

was it really serious, or not? Finally he pulled his keys out scrabbling with the lock. Once open he dived in the

car, and started the engine, burning rubber as he pulled out the parking lot, leaving the coffee flying from the

car and landing in a mess on the concrete.

.

Nick had been sat waiting for almost half an hour, though it felt like hours and hours had gone by already,

every time he heard a door he looked up to see if it was the doctor coming to talk to him, but it was always

someone else.

"Nick?" he looked up seeing Grissom, and stood up.

"Hey," he replied quietly.

"Have they said anything?" Grissom asked.

Nick shook his head, "Not yet, they're still in there," he said, looking round at the door. He sighed heavily,

"Man… I should of made sure she didn't go in there on her own…"

"Nick, I'm sure this isn't your fault," Grissom said, "Now tell me what happened," he said, sitting down and

motioning for Nick to do the same.

He did so, and took a breath, pausing before telling Grissom the whole story, right from when he'd dropped

Phoebe off to when they'd arrived at the hospital.

Once he'd finished Grissom rubbed his forehead, "Nick, you can't blame yourself… I'll call Brass, we need to let

him know about Chris…"

He was interrupted as the door finally opened and a Doctor appeared, the two men immediately stood up. The

doctor smiled at them, "Hi, I'm Doctor Ferrier," he introduced himself.

"How's she doing?" Nick asked.

"Well, all her vital signs are stable, there's a lot of trauma to the abdomen, but no signs of any internal

bleeding. She's sustained some serious injuries to her head, there was a large laceration to the scalp, we're

going to send her up now for a CT scan, to determine if there's any neurological bleeding or swelling," he

explained.

"Is she awake?" Nick questioned.

The doctor nodded, "She's quite drowsy, which is a combination of the effects of her injuries and the side

effects of the drugs we've given her… she was asking for a Nick and a Greg," he said.

"Greg's not here but I am," Nick spoke up, "Can I go see her?"

"I don't see why not, it'll probably help for her to have someone go with her to CT in fact," he smiled.

Nick nodded, and turned to Grissom, "I'll wait for Greg… I need to call Brass anyway," he told him.

"Thanks Griss," Nick smiled, and followed the doctor back into the room.

.

Phoebe was sat up slightly in the bed, she had an IV in on of her arms, the other was attached to a blood

pressure cuff, her face was bruised and she had a few stitches and dressing to her wounds. Her eyes were

open and as she saw Nick she gave the tiniest of smiles, he quickly headed to her side.

"Hey Pheebs," he smiled, taking her hand.

"Hi," she mumbled quietly.

He gave her a smile, "I can't leave you alone for 5 minutes can I?" he joked, quietly. He could see as she tried

to smile, but it was only very slight, as a few tears crept out the corners of her eyes, "Aww, Phoebe it's ok

now," he soothed, stroking a hand over her hair, "You're gonna be ok, I promise," he told her.

.

Phoebe and Nick had been up in CT for almost 15 minutes when Grissom heard Greg running down the corridor

towards him, "Griss," he called out of breath, "Where is she? Is she ok?" he asked, his voice full of concern and

worry.

"Greg, just take a minute to catch your breath," he told him, "She's gone to have a CT scan," he explained.

"But, she shouldn't be on her own…" Greg began.

"Nick's with her, she's ok; they're just doing it as a precaution… Greg just take a seat, calm down for a

minute," Grissom told the younger man.

Greg paused, he was so anxious and worried and he'd managed to get really stressed on the way there,

getting stuck in loads of traffic. He sat himself down, looking across at Grissom who had sat next to him, "What

happened?" he finally asked.

Grissom looked across at him, he could see the worry on his face, and was surprised that he'd not noticed

before now that there was anything going on between him and Phoebe The look he got from Greg now it was

obvious he cared about her. He told Greg what Nick had told him, "She mentioned Chris's name… I've spoken

to Brass, they're looking for him now," he told him.

Greg shook his head, "That bastard… I swear…" he didn't finish the sentence, sitting forward he rested his

elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. He could feel himself shaking ever so slightly and tried to hold it in,

he just wanted to see her now for himself, let her know he was there.

.

Once they'd finished in CT there was a room ready for Phoebe on one of the wards, so they took her straight

there. Once she was all settled and attached to the monitors Nick took a seat beside her bed.

"Phoebe, I'll call your parents for you," he told her. He was surprised when she shook her head, to say no,

"Phoebe, you need to let them know."

He saw as she tried to hold back her tears, but didn't quite manage it, "They would worry so much, and they'd

want to come here… they cant afford to take the time off work…" she stopped, taking a few deep breaths,

trying to stop the tears from flowing.

"Hey, its ok… but you know I still have to let them know right?" she nodded a little, "Ok, I'll just tell them

you're doing fine and you said not to worry about you, how does that sound?"

She nodded slowly, "Ok."

The nurse who was still in the room looked over at her, "Would you like me to get your friends now?" she

asked.

Phoebe looked at Nick, "Greg's here?" she asked, knowing that must be who she meant.

He nodded, "Yeah, remember I told you?"

She frowned slightly, trying to remember, "I uh… I think so," she looked up at the nurse, "I want to see him…

please," she told her.

The nurse nodded, "I'll go and get them for you," she smiled, before leaving the room.

She let out a sigh, her head was still fuzzy and she felt tired, she looked over at Nick, more then grateful that

he was there. He gave her a small smile, rubbing a hand over her arm, "Thank you for staying," she said, in a

voice that was so quiet he just about made it out.

"I promised I would."

.

As Grissom and Greg followed the nurse down the corridor Greg felt his heart begin to pound at the thought of

seeing Phoebe. He wanted to see for himself that she was ok, to make sure she was safe and let her know he

was there for her.

As the reached the door the nurse stepped aside, "She's through there," she smiled.

"Thank you," Grissom told her, as Greg rushed into the room and immediately to Phoebe's side, not even

noticing Nick sat there. He tried to stay calm as he took in all the bruises, swelling and cuts as well as the black

eye.

Nick stood up and moved aside as he saw Greg come in.

"Greg," Phoebe smiled.

"Hey," he returned, smiling as best as he could as he placed a kiss on her forehead, "I been worried about

you," he told her quietly, as he reached for her hand, taking it in his.

She tried to give him a small smile, as more tears slowly crept down her cheeks, "I'm ok," she whispered,

trying to rub the tears away.

He smiled slightly, "Liar."

She looked at him before looking down at her hands jumping as he gently reached over and brushed his

thumb over her swollen cheek, rubbing away a tear that was slowly making its way down her face. He strained

to hear her small voice as she spoke again, "Greg I don't want to stay here."

"You're the best place right now, you have to stay."

More tears were starting to fall down her face; "I don't want to."

They were interrupted by the sound of Grissom's cell phone ringing and he quietly excused himself.

Greg's attention never left Phoebe. "Pheebs you don't have to be here long but we need to make sure you're

okay."

"I am, okay I mean. I-I'm fine I just…" she sighed and rubbed at her eyes again.

"You just what?"

She sat back a little, "I'm scared." She said, her voice wavering. Greg moved and sat on the edge of her bed

pulling her towards him and cradling her head on his chest as she started crying.

"Sshh its okay, you don't need to be scared." He told her.

She looked up at Greg her eyes looked tired and sad at the same time, "Did… he uh… he…"

He hesitated, "Chris…"

She visibly stiffened as she heard his name and looked down again. "Where is he?" She asked quietly looking

down at his jeans playing with a few loose threads near to the knee area where they were ripped.

"They're looking for him now… Phoebe?" Greg asked touching her face.

"Yeah?" she replied, looking up.

"What happened?"

She looked down again then up at Nick, who was stood staring at them both, his hands shoved deep in his

pockets.

"I…" she quickly swiped at her eyes as more tears fell down and shook her head at the same time.

"It's okay if you don't want to, it can wait." Nick said moving forwards but stopping.

She tugged more at the loose threads, "I… it was just all a blur… he broke into my apartment, I mean I didn't

know at the time it was him. I was going to wait for Nick, I _should have_waited for Nick, but I…" she frowned

trying to remember before continuing in a rambling manner. "I had my gun out, I wasn't scared, but he had his

out too." She shook her head, "He knew…"

Greg stroked her face, "What did he know?" he asked softly.

She frowned again, "He knew that I wouldn't use it… but I didn't need to because he put his down and then I

did too but then he grabbed me and I tried to get my gun but I fell on the floor… no I was against the wall.

Then… then…" she was getting frustrated trying to remember and leant her head in her hands crying.

"Hey it's okay." Greg soothed.

Nick walked over and sat down on the spare chair, resting his elbows on the bed and touching her forearm.

"What happened next?" he coaxed.

"He wouldn't stop he just wouldn't…" she said shakily then continued, looking at Nick. "And then I fell on the

floor I… I don't know how… I think I heard you but…" she shook her head murmuring to herself.

"That was when I found you." Nick finished gently.

Phoebe went quiet staring down at her hands again. "My head hurts."

Nick stood up and touched her hair before giving her shoulder a small squeeze, "Maybe you should get some

rest." She looked over at Greg who smiled and reached his hand to her cheek again. She closed her eyes

letting a few more tears slide down her cheeks, and leaned into his touch. "He's right" he told her.

Phoebe leaned forwards onto Greg and laid her head against his shoulder. "Will you stay for a bit?"

"Do you even need to ask?" he said hugging her again, his hand rubbing over her back.

Nick looked down at the two, "I'm uh… just gonna go talk to Grissom," he told them both.

Greg nodded giving Nick a small smile, watching as he quietly left the room.

"Greg?" he heard her muffled voice.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being here," she told him.

He smiled, "Baby, there's no where else I would be right now," he assured her.

.

As Nick left the room he saw Grissom finishing up his conversation, once he put his phone back in his pocket he

turned to Nick, "How's she doing?"

"She's scared, upset, like you'd expect… that Brass?" he asked.

Grissom nodded, "Yeah, they found Chris, they're questioning him now, Ecklie's team are working the case," he

explained.

Nick nodded, "They found anything?"

"Well they got no prints off the lock, they'd all been wiped away, but they did find some prints on Phoebe's

gun, they're still processing at the moment… Ecklie was gonna come down and get the evidence from Phoebe,

but I told him we would get it," he explained.

Nick nodded, "I'll go get my kit now…" he began, but was interrupted by the nurse approaching the two.

"Excuse me… I have Miss Jones clothes," she told them holding out a bag, which Nick took, "And we also ran a

SART kit," she told them.

Nick felt his whole body stiffen, "Man I swear if he…"

"There were no signs of sexual assault… it's a routine test we run on all assault victims," the nurse assured

him.

Both men let out a small sigh of relief, "Thank you miss," Grissom told her. She gave them a small smile before

heading off.

Nick looked over at Grissom, "I'll go get my kit," he said, before he left.

.

Nick stepped out the room, closing the door softly behind him, sighing to himself. He looked up at Grissom, who

was stood outside waiting.

"How you doing?" he asked.

"Man, I never had to do that on someone I care about before," he replied. Processing a victim for evidence

was something he'd done hundreds of times before, but this was the first time he'd really struggled. Phoebe

had tried to put on a brave face, she let him take his photos and get scrapings from her nails, but he could tell

she hated every minute of it.

Grissom gave him a small smile, "Its never easy collecting evidence when you know the victim," he said.

"Yeah… I just hope it's not something I have to do again," he said.

Both men looked up as they heard the door open and saw Greg coming from the room, "She's sleeping," he

explained. The two men nodded, Greg looked at Grissom, "So they get him?"

"They're questioning him at the moment; the sooner we get the evidence processed the quicker they'll be able

to arrest him… Nick I think it would be best if you stayed here with Greg, I'll take the evidence you've got along

with Phoebe's clothes and the SART kit back to the lab…"

"Wait, hold on, did you say SART kit?" Greg exclaimed, his anger evident, "If that son of a bitch…"

Nick put a hand on his shoulder, "Greg calm down, they didn't find any signs of sexual assault," he assured his

younger friend.

Greg let out a loud breath, "God… this is just messed up… I wanna do something to help I just…"

"Greg," Grissom spoke up, causing him to look over, "You being here with Phoebe, making sure she's ok, that's

plenty helpful," he assured him. Greg gave him a small appreciative smile. "I gotta get back to the lab… Nick?"

he asked.

"Oh, uh, sure," Nick said, handing him the evidence.

"Oh, here," Grissom handed over a piece of paper, "I got Judy to get her next of kin details for me, that's her

parents number," he said, "You want me to call them…"

"No," Nick cut off, "I promised Phoebe I would," he said.

Grissom nodded, "Ok, well I'll keep you posted," he said, before he turned and left.

Nick looked over at Greg, "You ok man?"

Greg shrugged, "No… I don't know… I mean," he sighed, "I just hope she's gonna be ok."

"Hey, she's strong you know that, she'll get back on her feet, we just need to be there for her, that's all," Nick

replied.

Greg nodded, "Yeah, I uh, I'm gonna head back in, in case she wakes up," he said.

"Sure," Nick nodded, "I guess I'll go call her parents."

.

Nick was stood outside the hospital, taking a minute, getting some fresh air. He had spoken to Phoebe's mom,

and it had taken a lot of convincing on his behalf that she was ok, and they needn't come to see her. He had

had to lie… or stretch the truth a bit, but it had worked. He'd given them his cell phone number so they could

get hold of him.

As he rubbed and hand over his eye's he jumped, feeling his phone vibrate before ringing. He pulled it from his

pocket, flipping it open, "Stokes," he answered.

"Hi, this Nick Stokes?" a male voice asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"This is Danny Jones… my parents just called me, Phoebe's in hospital?" he asked.

"Uh… yeah, she is," Nick told him.

"Apparently she's ok though right?" he continued.

"Uh… yeah, she told me to say she's fine, and not to worry about her," Nick said, he heard a sigh over the

phone,

"Listen man, level with me, how is she really? Cause I know my sister, and she would say she's fine even if

she was dying," Danny told him.

"Honestly?" Nick began, "She's not doing so great, she was beaten pretty badly, the Doc's wanna keep her in

for a few days at least," he explained.

"God damn it! Chris did that?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry man," Nick spoke.

"I knew I should never have let him near her, y'know I never trusted the guy, she's my baby sister… I should

have gone down and beat his ass when she told me he was causing her trouble," Danny sounded pissed.

"If it wasn't for the position I'm in I woulda done the same," Nick told him, "But with him being a cop…"

"I get it… its just good to know she got someone down there looking out for her," Danny returned.

"She got more then just me," Nick assured him.

"Listen, I know she doesn't want mom and dad coming down, I know why… but I've already booked myself on

the next flight out there… she'll probably already have guessed that though," he explained.

Nick gave a small smile to himself, "I'll let her know,"

"And tell her Ashlee's coming with me… I couldn't stop her from coming with me if I tried," Danny said.

"Ashlee your wife?" Nick questioned.

Danny gave a small laugh, "No, my wife's kid sister, Phoebe's best friend."

"Oh yeah, she's mentioned her before," Nick remembered.

"Ok, well I gotta go… I'll get there at about 5am your time," he told him.

"Sure, well, I guess I'll meet you then," Nick said.

"Yeah, bye… and thanks for being honest… just tell her… tell her I'll be there soon," he said.

"Sure man," Nick finished before he pulled the phone away from his ear, snapping it shut. He sighed to himself,

he couldn't imagine how he would feel if it was one of his sisters. He placed the phone back in his pocket,

taking a breath before heading back into the hospital.

* * *

Ok, so there it is, really hope you guys liked it. Please review, I love to know what you think.


	12. Chapter 12

Here is the next chapter. I just want to say thank you to C.H.W.13 and Trulzxoxo, I really appreciate that you review every chapter. Though this chapter was already written, I have edited and added a few bits just for you, so we have a bit more Phoebe and Greg and a little more of her family, so I hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter 12

Brass was sat across the table from Chris, he wasn't saying a lot, "Come on Chris, tell me what happened…

we know you were at Phoebe's apartment, we got 5 eye witnesses that saw you go in, not to mention

surveillance tapes that show you entering the lobby, so lets try again, what were you doing there?" Brass

asked.

Chris looked across at him, "Yeah, I was there… I went to see her, I mean there's no crime in that, we _were_

engaged."

Brass stared at him, "What did you do when you got there?" he asked.

"I uh… I noticed someone had broken in, so I… well I wanted to stay so I was there when she got back, I

mean I knew she would worry and…"

"Wait… hold on a minute, I'm a little confused," Brass cut him off; "You noticed someone had broken in, but you

didn't think to call it in? You're a cop!"

Chris stared at him for a moment, realising he'd messed up, "I uh… I wasn't thinking… I, I was worried about

Phoebe…"

Brass stood up and walked round to Chris, leaning both his hands on the table he leaned in, talking in Chris's

ear, "You know, we're gonna get you for this, you're gonna loose you badge," he told him in a low voice.

.

Greg was still sat by Phoebe's bed, Nick had left about an hour or so ago, he had to work, but Grissom had

told Greg he had the night off, for which he was thankful.

He watched as she slept, every now and then she would stir and he would think she was waking up, but she

would settle again. The Doctor had been in to see her, but said he would be back when she was awake to talk

to her. The nurses were coming in every hour to check her GCS, which meant waking her, though she would co

operate then fall straight back to sleep.

He had been sat there for quite a few hours now; his head was a jumble of thoughts, which was beginning to

give him a headache. He felt guilty that he hadn't been there for her, if he hadn't have stopped for coffee on

the way home he would have been there. He'd never before wanted to hurt someone as much as he wanted

to find Chris and beat the crap out of him for what he had done, and couldn't help but think if maybe he had

done something sooner then Chris would never have done this. And he was worried about her, what if the

injuries were more serious then they thought, and what if she could never get over this. But he had to try to

ignore the thoughts, or they would drive him crazy, and he needed to be calm for Phoebe. So he tried to push

them to the back of his mind.

He had called Grissom to see if they had any more developments. They had matched the prints on Phoebe's

gun to Chris, but they were still waiting on DNA and trace to get their results back.

He sat with his head leaning in his hands; he wished he could forget where he was, and why he was there. He

jumped as he heard the door to the room open, and looked up seeing a young nurse enter the room, she

gave him a small smile, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump," she apologised.

"Its ok," he replied, returning the smile, he looked down at his watch, "That time again?"

"Afraid so," the nurse nodded, as she walked toward the bed, pulling her pen torch from her pocket.

"Phoebe?" she called gently, a hand on her shoulder.

Phoebe slowly opened her eyes, "Mmm," she mumbled, looking at the nurse.

The nurse smiled at her, before doing her assessment then filling in her chart, she looked over at Greg, "GCS is

14, only looses a point because she's still drowsy," she told him.

Greg smiled, "Almost there." The nurse gave him one last smile, before she left the room again. He looked back

to Phoebe, she hadn't gone back to sleep this time and smiled at him.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he returned. She tired to sit up a little and winced, shutting her eyes tightly, as a small moan escaped

her lips, "You ok?" he asked.

"My stomach really hurts," she told him, as she opened her eyes, looking at him.

"It's pretty bruised," he explained.

She nodded, remembering why, "What time is it?" she asked, not wanting to think about it.

"Gone ten," he told her.

She frowned slightly, "Shouldn't you be at work?"

He gave her a smile, "Griss gave me the night off."

She smiled at this, "I'm glad… don't wanna be here on my own," she said quietly, looking down at her hand,

staring at the IV there.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," he assured her reaching out to take the hand she had been staring at. "Oh,

and Nick spoke to you mom and dad… he said he had a pretty hard job convincing them you were ok, but

they're staying in Chicago," he finished.

She nodded slowly, she could tell he had something more to say,

"You're gonna tell me Danny's coming though right," she said before he had the chance. He gave a tiny laugh,

"Yeah, and…"

"Ashlee," she cut him off.

"That knock on the head must have given you mind reading powers huh?" he joked.

She gave a small smile, "It'll be good to see them… though I wish it didn't have to be because of this," she

finished in virtually a whisper, trying to blink back the tears that threatened to fall once more.

He squeezed her hand, his other reaching up, stroking her cheek, "Hey, everything's gonna be ok, I promise."

She nodded her head slowly, looking across at him, "Sorry… I bet you never thought you'd have to deal with

all this crap when you asked me out huh."

"Phoebe," he began, "You don't need to be sorry for anything."

"But… you shouldn't have to deal with… well all this," she gestured with her arms.

"Honey, _you _shouldn't have to deal with this, don't worry about me," he assured her.

She gave him a small smile, and with the hand Greg was holding gently tugged, pulling him toward her for a

hug. Greg, realising what she wanted sat up, leaning in, wrapping his arms around her. She buried her head in

his chest, "Thank you," he heard her muffled voice. He just kissed the top of her head in reply.

.

Greg looked down at his watch, 3.45am. He tried to hold back a yawn but failed. He had almost nodded off a

few times, but each time a nurse would come to check on Phoebe, or a monitor would alarm, so he had given

up.

He heard Phoebe mumbling, and looked over, she was still asleep, but looked restless. He squeezed her hand,

hoping somehow it might remind her he was there, but she continued muttering, her hands moving up to her

face.

"Phoebe," he said, trying to wake her.

"No… don't…" she said, louder, her eyes still shut.

"Phoebe," Greg tried again, louder this time.

"No!" she screamed, sitting up, her eyes flying open.

"Hey, its ok, Phoebe…" Greg grabbed at her hand, trying to calm her down.

She looked around, startled, her eyes settling on him, "Greg?"

"Yeah, its me," he assured her.

She stared at him a moment longer, remembering where she was. She sat back on the pillows, sighing,

"Sorry… bad dream," she muttered.

He ran a hand over her hair, "Its ok," he soothed, "You're safe now."

She rubbed a hand over her eyes, sighing shakily, "I'm sorry," she said again.

"Please stop apologising," he told her."

"Sorry… I mean… ok," she tried, giving him a small smile.

He smiled back, "That's better… you uh, wanna talk about it?" he asked, referring back to the dream.

"Oh, uh… it was just… well, more like a bad memory I guess… "

He nodded, "Sweetie, if you want to talk about it I'm here… but if you don't that's fine too."

She smiled once more, "Thank you," she said, yawning. He eyes flickered shut, and Greg could tell she was still

drowsy.

"Greg…" she said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad I have you," she mumbled.

He smiled to himself, blushing slightly, and though he could see she was already asleep he replied quietly, "Me

too."

.

Nick sat staring ahead of him. He was sat in the break room, an uneaten sandwich sat on the table in front of

him. He'd surprised himself by arriving 15 minutes early, considering he'd rushed home from the hospital and

hurried to shower and change he hadn't expected to be early. He needn't wait to be assigned a case as he

was still working on the same one, though now he was working it solo.

It hadn't taken long for everyone to know about Phoebe, and he had been asked more then once what had

happened. He knew they meant well but he was finding it hard to keep going over it. He was deep in thought

and didn't notice Catherine walk in, calling his name.

"Nick?" she tried again, "You ok?"

He finally looked up at her, "Oh, hey Cath, yeah I'm ok" he said slowly, "I just had a rough day," he explained.

She went and sat beside him, "Yeah, I hear. Wanna talk about it?"

He looked across at her, "I just… I can't get that image out my head y'know, just walking in and finding her…

its like no matter how many scenes I been to, nothing can prepare you for walking in seeing someone you

know…" he trailed off, rubbing a hand over his face.

"They don't teach you about that," she said.

He sighed, "I just can't believe all the times he came here, y'know I never thought he'd go that far, maybe if I'd

said something to him, or…"

"Hey, this isn't your fault," Catherine cut him off, "You can't blame yourself," she told him.

Another sigh, "I guess… I hope she's ok, she was pretty shaken up," he said, looking down at his hands.

"Well, that's normal… listen Nick, Phoebe isn't the kind of woman to let someone hold her back, she'll get back

on her feet, besides hasn't she got Greg to help her through," she said, a small smile on her lips.

Nick looked up at her, "How did you know?"

She smiled, "Nicky, I'm a woman, we know these things,"

He let out a small laugh, "You know I'm beginning to learn that."

.

Nick made his way down the corridor to Phoebe's room. Looking down at his watch he saw it was 8.30am, for

once he'd gotten out of work on time, which he knew was only due to what had happened.

As he reached the door he opened it slowly, and smiled as he saw Phoebe sat up in bed, while Greg was fast

asleep, his head resting on the bed beside her. Phoebe smiled as she saw Nick, "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hi Pheebs," he replied, keeping his voice quiet, he headed over, sitting himself in the chair on the other side

of the bed, "So how you feeling?" he asked.

She gave a small shrug, "A little better I guess, a bit more with it anyway" she told him. "So uh," she continued in her hushed voice,

"How's work?"

"OK… Warrick and I got an arrest on the guy from the gym," he explained.

"That's great," she smiled, pleased they'd got him, "So… is everyone asking questions?" she continued.

He frowned slightly, "What about?"

She raised her eyebrows, as if it were obvious, "About why Greg was here last night instead of at work."

"Oh… uh, no…" Nick tried.

"You know you're a lousy liar," she told him.

He smiled, "I've been told… yeah, I uh, think pretty much everyone knows now," he told her.

She nodded slowly, "Is uh… Grissom mad?" she asked in a small, almost childlike voice.

Nick held in a small laugh, "No, Pheebs, he's ok, y'know as long as it doesn't start to affect your work you

know he's not gonna lecture you… or be mad at you," he finished.

"Ok," she returned softly. Just then she felt Greg stir beside her and looked down at him, he rubbed his eyes

slowly, lifting his head up, looking around, and groaning slightly.

"Sorry… how long was out?" he asked groggily.

"Only about an hour or so… I figured you needed it," she told him, as he leaned over to give her a small kiss.

He noticed Nick and smiled, "Hey man,"

"Hey," Nick returned.

"You feeling any better?" Greg asked her as he told her hand.

"A little," she said, giving him a small smile.

At that moment they were interrupted by the sound of a slight tap at the door, before a nurse appeared, "Miss

Jones, your brothers here to see you, shall I send him in?"

"Danny?" Phoebe asked, "yeah, of course," she replied, trying to sit up some more, but stopping as pains shot

through her stomach.

As the nurse stepped out the room she saw her eldest brother stood in the door way. He was tall, at least 6ft;

it was obvious to look at him that he and Phoebe were related. They had the same hair colour, as well as the

exact same deep blue eyes.

She smiled at him, feeling tears in her eyes, but pushed them back, "Danny," she said softly.

He headed straight over to her, ignoring everyone else in the room, Nick stood so he could take his seat,

which he did. He ran a hand gently over her hair, "Hey Tubbs," he said gently, before leaning over to hug her.

Once they pulled apart she looked down, "Danny, I'm fine, really you're making a big thing out of nothing," she

said, though she knew he didn't buy it.

"You've never been able to lie to me, what makes you think you can start now," he retuned, seeing the sad

look in her eyes.

She tired to smile, but instead found herself blinking back some more tears, "Phoebe," he sighed. He paused

for a moment before looking up at Nick, "You the guy I spoke to on the phone?" he asked.

Nick nodded, "Yeah, Nick Stokes," he replied, holding out his hand.

"Danny Jones," Danny returned, shaking Nick's outstretched hand, "So, they arrest the bastard yet?"

"Uh… yeah, they got enough evidence to arrest him," Nick assured him.

Danny nodded, "Good evidence?"

"It's pretty strong yeah," Nick said.

"Will it hold up in court?" Danny continued to ask more questions.

"Danny please," Phoebe spoke up, "Just stop?" she asked quietly.

He sighed looking back at her, for the first time he noticed Greg sat beside her, and couldn't fail to notice he

was holding her hand, he looked at him suspiciously, "I'm sorry, and you are?" he asked, almost coldly.

Phoebe rolled her eyes; she had forgotten just how overprotective he could be when he wanted to.

Greg looked across at the older man, feeling a little intimidated, but he just smiled, "Sorry, I'm Greg Sanders,

I'm Phoebes…" he trailed off, unsure if they were at the calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend stage yet.

"He's my boyfriend Danny," Phoebe spoke up, finishing the sentence for him.

Greg glanced across at her, and the two shared a smile. Danny looked from Greg to Phoebe, "Jeese Phoebe,

your love life is more complicated then Izzy's,"

Phoebe looked up at him; "My niece has a boyfriend?" she smiled.

"Several apparently," he returned.

Phoebe smiled, but Danny's gaze was back on Greg, he was giving him a warning glare. Greg, though he was

trying not to be, was feeling very intimidated, but a squeeze of Phoebe's hand made him feel a bit better.

For the first time Phoebe looked up and noticed her best friend stood in the doorway. She was around the

same height as Phoebe, and had shoulder length, light brown hair, with green eyes, and a few freckles,

"Ashlee," Phoebe smiled.

Ashlee took this as her queue to head over, "Pheebs," she smiled, before giving her a hug.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Phoebe began, as they two broke apart, "Ashlee this is Greg, and Nick," she pointed to each

of them, "And guys this is my best friend Ashlee,"

"Nice to meet you," Nick smiled.

"Same here," Greg added. Ashlee just smiled at the two.

"I uh better get going," Nick spoke up, "I got work tonight… and I'm pretty tired," he admitted.

Phoebe gave him an appreciative smile, "I'm sorry, that my fault,"

He returned her a smile, "Hey I chose to come see you," he assured her.

"And I appreciate it,"

He leaned over to give her a hug goodbye, "I'll try and swing by before my shift later,"

"Nick… you don't have to do that…"

"Yeah, but I will anyway," he returned.

She just smiled, "Thanks."

"Nice to meet you guys," he said to Danny and Ashlee, "Get better," he said to Phoebe, before he left the

room.

Once he was gone Phoebe noticed Greg yawn, "Greg, you should go home and get some sleep too… you been

here all night," she reminded him.

"I'm ok… but I was gonna maybe go home and have a shower… if that's ok?" he asked.

She couldn't help but smile, "Of course it's ok."

I promise I'll be back afterwards though," he added.

"Greg… honey, you don't have to come back, I'll be fine," she assured him.

He smiled, "But I want to see you," as he said this he gently tucked some hair behind her ear, running his

hand over her cheek softly, as not to hurt her. "I'll be back later," he said quietly, as he placed a soft kiss on

her lips. He got up and reluctantly let go of her hand.

She smiled up at him, "Just drive carefully ok," she told him.

"I always do," he replied.

"But your extra tired," she reminded him.

He nodded, "I will, I promise," he looked across at Danny, and again caught the look he as giving him, "It uh…

was nice meeting you," he said, looking over to Ashlee, who was giving him a much warmer smile, "I'll see you

later," he said once more, before he too left the room.

.

Danny had quickly excused himself to go get something to eat, leaving Phoebe alone with Ashlee.

Ashlee was sat in the seat Greg had been in, "So, Greg's pretty cute," she said.

Phoebe smiled, "I think so."

Ashlee nodded slightly, "He's a lot different from Chris," she said quietly.

Phoebe looked down at her hands, before looking back to her friend, "You gonna say I told you so?"

"I wouldn't be a very good friend if I did," Ashlee returned,

Phoebe nodded, "Yeah, but I know you want to…and you'd be right, I know I was stupid, I should have

listened to you years ago, I made so many mistakes with him…"

"Well Greg doesn't look like a mistake," Ashlee interjected.

At this Phoebe couldn't help but smile, "No… Ash he's so sweet, and he really cares about me y'know… we just

want to take things slow, well that was the plan… but I really think I could fall for him," she finished.

"I think you already are…" Ashlee noted, Phoebe blushed, causing Ashlee to smile, knowing she was right,

"Well he'd better be careful, or he'll have Danny to answer to," she joked.

The two girls laughed, before Phoebe's face fell, "Oh god, I bet he chased after him…" she realised, thinking

how he left straight after Greg.

Ashlee nodded, "Yeah… I'm sure he won't be too scary, right…"

.

As Greg got to his car he stopped for a moment, standing against the door, rubbing a hand over his eyes, it

had been a long night, and he was tired. He was worried about Phoebe, and even though her brother and

friend had turned up he didn't want to leave her. He felt like if he was there his mind was at ease that she

was ok, but when he wasn't he was worried about her.

"Hey," he heard a voice and looked up to see Danny walking toward him.

He felt himself stiffen as he stood up straight, he knew Danny was only being protective of his sister, and he

didn't blame him, after all, the last guy she dated was Chris, but he couldn't help but feel intimidated by him.

"Uh hey," he spoke up as Danny reached him.

Danny stopped and looked at the younger man, he could see he looked tried and drained, he sighed, "Listen,

Greg… I don't wanna come across as this jerk, because I'm not… but I'm just looking out for my sister," he told

him.

Greg nodded, "I don't blame you… especially after what Chris did… but… I really care about Phoebe, she

means a lot to me," he told him truthfully.

Danny stared at him for a moment; the look in Greg's eyes told him he was telling the truth, "Y'know I believe

you… but listen, I swear to god you hurt her…"

Greg held up his hands, "I would never do anything to hurt her, she means way too much to me," he assured

him.

Danny nodded, "Good… listen, I'm a nice guy… its just something I have to do… she's my baby sister, and I

wont see anyone else hurt her, that's all," he explained.

"Well then we both want the same thing," Greg replied.

Danny nodded, and after a pause he held his hand out to Greg, which Greg took, "Just be good to her,"

"I promise," Greg returned as he let go of Danny's hand.

"Well then I guess I'll see you around," Danny said.

Greg nodded, "Sure."

Danny just nodded his head, before he turned and headed back toward the hospital.

Greg stared after him for a moment, hoping that was the last of the interrogations he would get before slowly

pulling his keys from his pockets and letting himself in the car.

.

Greg was on his way to work, once he'd been home he'd gone straight back to the hospital, like he'd

promised, and had just left there now to make his way to work. He didn't want to go in, he wanted another

night off, but knew he couldn't, they were busy and Grissom had been good giving him the previous night off.

As he walked from the locker room toward the break room he thought he noticed people watching him, but

when he looked up they would quickly be doing some work. He figured they must all by now know about the

relationship between him and Phoebe.

As he entered the break room, he saw Warrick and Sara talking, as soon as they saw him they stopped,

"Hey man, how you holding up?" Warrick asked him.

"I'm ok," Greg tried.

Sara looked at him and could see he was tired, but she had to ask, "So, how's Phoebe doing?"

He sighed slightly, knowing he was gonna get this a lot tonight, "She uh… she's doing ok, a bit better, her

brother and friend arrived this morning so I think that's made her feel a bit better," he explained.

Sara gave a small smile, "That's good."

"So… what's happening with Chris?" Greg asked, he immediately noticed the looks shared between Warrick

and Sara.

"Well… I'm not really sure, last I know they'd arrested him," Warrick said.

Greg looked to Sara, "Uh… yeah, same here," she said quickly.

"Guys… is there something your not telling me?" he asked.

"Like what?" Sara questioned.

"About Chris," Greg said.

"Listen, man, it wasn't our case… maybe you should talk to Grissom," Warrick told him.

Greg didn't say anything; he just looked once more at the two before leaving and heading straight for

Grissom's office.

.

The door was open and he knocked, causing Grissom to look up, "Greg, come in," he said, as though he had

been expecting him to come see him. Greg walked into the room, "Shut the door," Grissom told him. Greg

paused, he never usually shut the door, which made him think whatever he had to say wasn't good news.

"Grissom, I just wanted to know what had happened with Chris, because I asked Warrick and Sara and I got

the impression there was something they didn't want to tell me," he explained.

Grissom stared across at Greg, hesitating slightly before answering, "Officer Merkoff made bail Greg… he's not

in police custody anymore."

"What?" Greg exclaimed, "How… I mean… what?" He paused, running a hand over the back of his head,

"Griss… after what he did to Phoebe? How the hell did he make bail?"

"Greg, I understand your frustration, but he's got no prior record, and he's a police officer, I'm sorry. Brass is

gonna have his men stay outside Phoebe's hospital room," he explained.

"Oh god, Phoebe," he suddenly thought, "Does she know?"

"Not yet, no," Grissom shook his head.

"Well I need to tell her…." Greg began.

"Greg… I need you working tonight, we got enough cases to keep us all busy, otherwise I would let you go,"

Grissom told him.

Greg sighed, "But she can't just hear it from anyone…"

"I think Nick might be there still, he was stopping by on his way here," Grissom explained.

"I'll call him, hopefully he'll still be there," Greg replied, standing up, he pulled his phone from his pocket,

"Thanks Griss," he said as he began dialling the numbers, heading out the door.

.

Nick was sat in his car, still in the parking lot at the hospital, he knew he was leaving late but he hadn't

realised what the time was. He was just about to put the key in the ignition when he heard his phone ringing.

Pulling it from his pocket he answered it, "Stokes…"

As soon as he'd put the phone down to Greg he'd headed straight back into the hospital, he couldn't believe

he'd made bail, and really didn't want to have to tell Phoebe, knowing how scared she had been of him.

As he reached her door he paused, taking a deep breath, before slowly pushing it open. Both Danny and

Ashlee were still there with her, as he entered they all looked up, "What are you doing back?" Phoebe asked.

"Uh… I just got a call from Greg…" he began.

Phoebe could tell something was wrong, "Nick? What's up?"

"It's Chris… he uh…" he sighed, "He made bail, he's out,"

The look that took over Phoebe's face could only really be described as terror, "But… why… how…" she trailed

off, staring at him for a while.

"He made bail?" Danny sounded angry, "How in the hell did he make bail?"

"Man, I don't know… I'm as pissed as you are…" Nick tried to calm Danny down.

Ashlee on the other hand was busy watching Phoebe, who had managed to sit herself on the edge of the bed

and was trying to get up, "Pheebs, what you doing?" she asked.

"I can't stay here," she said shakily, "He'll be coming here."

"Hey," Danny began, heading to her side, as she stood up on wobbly legs, "Tubbs come on, just sit down," he

tried in a soothing voice.

"No Danny, I want to go home," she said firmly.

Nick headed over and stood in front of her, "Pheebs, its ok, Brass is gonna send a couple of his guys to stay

outside you room, so he wont be able to get in even if he tried," he tried to reassure her.

She looked up at him as a tear slowly made its way down her cheek, "Nick… what if its one of his friends, he's

a cop too, I mean they'll just let him in," she said, her voice was scared.

"Sweetie that won't happen," he assured her.

"Come on Tubbs, you know I'm gonna be here all the time right, I'm not going anywhere," Danny promised.

"But… I'd feel safer at home," she tried.

"You're not ready to go home," Nick said.

"At least stay tonight and see how you feel in the morning," Danny cut her off.

She looked across at him, she knew he was right, but she just didn't feel safe there, knowing Chris could just

come by at any minute, she sighed, "Fine… but only till the morning," she said.

Danny smiled at her, "That's good enough for me,"

..

The next morning Greg finished on time, though his case was still on going Grissom knew how much he wanted

to get back to see Phoebe, so let him go.

As he headed down the corridor toward her room he saw the 2 cops stood outside her door, both of which he

recognised. They gave him a nod as he smiled at them before entering her room.

He saw her sat in the chair beside her bed, her bag packed ready to go home. She looked up as soon as he

opened the door, giving him a small smile, "Greg,"

"Hey," he smiled shutting the door behind him.

"How was your night?" she asked quietly.

"Busy… how about yours?" he replied.

She shrugged; "Ok I guess… they still there?" she looked over toward the door.

"Oh… yeah, they are," he assured her, as he headed over to sit on the edge of the bed, facing her, "So, can I

try and convince you to stay a bit longer?" he asked gently.

She shook her head gently, "No," she told him quietly. She was picking at the small dressing on her hand,

where the IV had been. He nodded in reply. They sat in silence for a minute, Greg just watching her as she

continued to pick at the dressing, causing the skin to turn red.

He got up and knelt down in front of her, taking her hand in his. His other hand reached up to her face, as he

did, she flinched slightly, moving her face away. Greg paused, watching as she looked down at her hands

guiltily. He was about to move his hand away but stopped, and gently brought it to her cheek, running his

thumb over her brow, he stared into her eyes.

"Sorry," she mumbled softly, staring back at him.

"Its ok, you know I would never hurt you," he assured her.

She nodded slightly, before breaking his gaze and looking down at the floor, "Chris used to tell me that all the

time," she whispered.

"Baby… I'm sorry," he said, wrapping his arms round her, pulling her into a hug.

As she pulled back there was a moment where they were very close, and it felt as though they might kiss, but

Phoebe pulled away, looking away from him.

Greg stared at her, giving an uneasy smile, sitting back on his heels, he could see she looked anxious and

tried to change the subject, "So, I have to ask," he began, "Where does the whole Tubbs thing come from?"

She gave a small smile, "Oh uh… when I was a kid, and Danny used to baby-sit for me, well he would let me sit

up with him when he was watching Miami Vice, I used to run around shouting 'Freeze, Miami Vice'… so since I

was a kid Danny always called me it," she explained.

Greg smiled, "I figured that might be where it came from."

She gave him a small smile, and he reached out, squeezing her knee gently, he immediately felt her tense

under his touch, and moved his hand away.

"I uh, should check I've got everything," she said, moving to stand up.

Greg stood himself up, watching her, she stopped as she got half way, wincing in pain, moving a hand to her

stomach, he reached out to hold her arm, but she pulled away, "I'm ok," she told him, standing up straight.

She stood over her bag, looking through it to make sure everything was there, as she did the door opened

and Danny walked in, "Hey," he smiled.

"Danny," Phoebe smiled seeing him.

"Hey," Greg said quietly.

"So, you ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yep."

Danny walked over and picked up her bag, Phoebe looked at Greg, "You coming down to the car?"

"Uh no, I have to go see one of the uh, victims…" he said, "From my case."

"Ok," she nodded quietly, she paused, before reaching out to touch his arm, "I'll see you later," she said.

"Sure," he smiled, watching as Danny held the door open, one arm supporting Phoebe, he turned to look at

Greg, "Bye Greg."

"Yeah, bye," he replied, watching as the door shut after them, leaving him alone in the room. He sat on the

edge of the bed, leaning his head in his hands, sighing to himself.

..

Later that night Phoebe was lying across her couch, the TV on. Danny was sat on the armchair and Ashlee in

the other. Since she'd arrived home she'd been very quiet, obviously everything was cleaned up and the door

fixed, but her coffee table had been missing, as well as a few things removed.

The phone began to ring, and Danny, who was closest, sat up to reach for it. Phoebe looked over at him, "Uh,

if that's Greg, can you uh… just tell him I'm in the bath," she said quietly.

Danny looked at her questioningly, but she just gave him a small smile, and he picked up the phone, "Hello?

Oh uh, hi Greg… actually she's just in the tub at the moment… sure thing, yeah bye," he finished before putting

it back.

"Thank you," Phoebe said quietly.

Ashlee, who had been watching the whole thing frowned to herself, "Uh, you know I'm kinda hungry," she

spoke up.

"Yeah, me too," Danny said, "How about I call the Chinese," he suggested.

"Uh… you know they always take ages, maybe you should just go down there," she tried.

"Yeah, I guess I could do that… we passed one earlier, I think I could find it," he said.

"Great," Ashlee smiled.

A few minutes later, he'd written down their orders, and was out the door. Phoebe looked over at Ashlee as

the door closed, "So, what was that all about?" she asked.

Ashlee stared at her, as if to say she knew exactly what it was about, when Phoebe didn't say anything

Ashlee spoke up, "Why didn't you want to take Greg's phone call?"

She looked over at her before sighing, "I don't know… I just…" she sighed once more, propping herself up,

throwing the hair tie she'd been fiddling with on the table in front of her, she was angry with herself.

"Honey… Greg isn't like Chris," Ashlee said.

Phoebe stared over at her, "Ash, I loved Chris, and I trusted him, and look what happened, I mean he was a

normal guy…"

"Phoebe, I never had a good feeling about Chris, and none of your brothers trusted him," Ashlee reminded

her.

"I knew you would say it eventually," Phoebe said, looking down at her hands.

"I'm not saying that, but c'mon even your Dad never liked him, and he likes everyone," Ashlee spoke up.

"That sounds like an 'I told you so' to me," Phoebe said, looking back up at her.

Ashlee sighed, "I'm just trying to get my point across, Greg seems like a nice, guy, I mean Pheebs even Danny

told me he thought he seemed ok."

"Ashlee, you don't even know Greg," Phoebe pointed out.

"Maybe not, but you do, and yesterday you seemed pretty happy about him," Ashlee said, "What changed?"

"Yeah, well that was before I got scared all over again when Chris was released," she told her, wrapping her

arms around herself.

"So pushing Greg away is gonna help?"

Phoebe frowned, "I don't know," she sighed, looking down at the floor, "I don't know," she mumbled again,

more quietly.

* * *

So there you go, hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think... cos I might even try adding a few extra's for you if you do :)


	13. Chapter 13

Ok, so here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13

It was the next evening, and Phoebe still hadn't spoken to Greg. Danny was out getting her car fixed, which

she was thankful for, as she had completely forgotten it had been broken.

She was stood in the kitchen with Ashlee, when the phone began to ring, Phoebe looked over at Ashlee.

Ashlee caught the look and knew exactly what she was asking her, "What… Pheebs no…"

"Please Ash," Phoebe pleaded.

Ashlee sighed, hesitating before answering the phone, "Hello? Oh, hey Greg, uh, actually she's asleep… I can

wake her if you like?" Phoebe opened her eyes wide as she heard that, "Ok, well I'll make sure to tell her you

called… yeah, bye," Ashlee finished, hanging up the phone, she looked over at Phoebe, "I can't believe you

made me lie to him."

"I'm sorry," Phoebe apologised, "Thank you," she added with a small smile.

"Whatever," Ashlee returned, as she grabbed the bottle of water she'd been drinking and headed toward the

lounge.

Phoebe watched her go, sighing to herself, she knew she should talk to Greg, but she just couldn't bring

herself to just yet.

.

Greg sighed as he hung up the phone. He knew she was avoiding him, and wasn't sure why. He was worried

maybe he had done something to upset her.

"Hey, Greg, what's up?" he heard Nick's voice, and looked up to see him enter the locker room.

Greg sighed again, "It's Phoebe."

"Why? Is she ok?" Nick asked, concerned.

"I wouldn't know," Greg replied.

Nick frowned, "I'm not following."

Greg looked across at him, "She won't talk to me," he explained. "Since she went home she's been avoiding

my call's, and when I last saw her at the hospital she seemed almost nervous around me, I'm not sure what

I've done."

"Greg, I don't think its anything you've done," Nick assured him. "She is probably just scared. You should have

seen her when I told her Chris had made bail. She freaked out…"

"But I thought you said she was ok…" Greg interrupted.

"That's what she told me to tell you, and I knew if I told you the truth you'd be worried," Nick explained.

"Listen, try and imagine how she's feeling, the last guy she was with just put her in the hospital, and they

were together for 3 years. You two have been seeing each other, for what, a month or two. So now she is

probably scared to trust another guy again."

Greg nodded, "I understand, but I would never do anything to hurt anyone, especially not her."

"I know that man, and deep down I'm sure she does too," Nick tried to reassure him. "Just give her some time,

she'll get there."

"I hope you're right," Greg thought aloud.

.

It was a little while later, Danny still wasn't back, and Phoebe was in the shower, Ashlee was packing her

things up, she had to get back to Chicago and work.

She heard a knock on the door, and headed over looking through the spy hole, smiling when she saw who it

was. She pulled the door open, "Hey Ashlee," Nick smiled as he saw her.

"Nick, hi," she returned, stepping aside to let him in.

"So, is Phoebe about?" he asked, as he followed her into the lounge.

"Oh, she's just getting out the shower, " she explained, he nodded, "But hey, take a seat, she wont be long."

"Sure," he smiled, as he sat himself down in the armchair. He looked around and saw her bag, "So, you going

back to Chicago?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah tomorrow, I don't want to, but I gotta get back to work," she explained.

He nodded, and was about to ask what she did when he heard Phoebe.

"Hey Nick," they both looked up to see her entering the room.

"Hey Pheebs, how you feeling?" he asked, as she sat herself on the sofa.

"Ok I guess," she replied.

He nodded, "I uh, spoke to Greg," he said.

"Oh… you did?" she questioned, glancing across at Ashlee.

"Yeah… he uh, he said that you wont return his phone calls," he said.

"Well uh…" Phoebe began, Ashlee went to say something but Phoebe threw her a glance that told her to stay

quiet.

"You know he's worried about you," Nick said softly.

"I know," Phoebe sighed, "I don't know, I just…"

"You're scared," Nick finished for her.

She looked up at him, "Its stupid I know,"

"No its not, not after what Chris did, its understandable that you feel you can't trust him… but Pheebs, you

know Greg is a good guy…"

"Chris was a good guy," Phoebe said quietly. Ashlee coughed slightly, causing Phoebe to look over, "You

wanna say something Ash?"

"You already know what I got to say," Ashlee said quietly.

Phoebe stared at her for a moment before turning back to Nick, "Nick… I just, I'm scared that I cant trust my

own judgement anymore," she admitted.

"Phoebe I've known Greg for 8 years, and he would never do anything to hurt anyone … its just not in his

nature to be angry or violent," he explained.

She sighed again, "I know you're right… I just…"

"Just give him a chance," Nick added.

She stared at him for a while, "You think I should call him?"

"I think you should do whatever you want to," Nick replied.

She sighed, wishing he would give her a straight answer, "I'm gonna go call him," she finally decided, standing

up, she nodded once before heading into her room.

Ashlee stared after her, "Y'know, I told her all that yesterday, but does she listen to me…"

Nick gave a small laugh, "You know what you girls are like, you need more reassurance sometimes."

Ashlee smiled, "Y'know, I would argue, but I know you're right."

Phoebe reappeared, "He's not answering… you think I should leave a message?"

Nick looked at her, and just raised his eyebrows, "I'll leave a message," she said, turning away, she paused

turning back to look at him, "What shall I say?" Again Nick just stared at her, "Ok… I think I know," she said,

turning back and heading into her room.

Ashlee stared after her for a moment, before turning back to Nick, "How do you do that?"

He laughed, "I seem to be a good at sorting out other peoples love lives, just not really my own," he told her.

.

Phoebe sat on her bed, twirling the phone cord round her finger as she waited for the answer phone to kick in,

she took a deep breath, waiting for the beep, "Greg, hey its me, I uh… you're not answering so I guess you're

busy, or you don't wanna talk to me, which is understandable. I just, well I'm sorry I uh… I just, I don't know,

I'm being stupid and, maybe you could come by after work? Only if you want to, sorry, ugh, I'm rambling

again…. Ok, well I guess I'll talk to you later, I hope… bye" she finished, hanging up the phone. She sat staring

down at it for a while, she hoped he would call back, or stop by, she just hoped she hadn't pushed him away.

.

That night she couldn't sleep, every time she tried she ended up thinking about Greg, and Chris, and memories

of when he'd attacked her came flooding back. Then she would try and think about something happy to take

her mind from it and she would immediately, without even realising, think of Greg. Then she would feel stupid

that she'd been avoiding him, and anxious as to whether he'd got the message, and what he would think.

When she finally did manage to fall asleep she was restless and spent the whole night tossing and turning.

She woke up slowly, all the movement in her sleep had caused her to wake up in pain. Hard as she could to try

and forget about what had happened the bruises that were still present were angry reminders. She sat up

slowly, looking at the clock, seeing it was gone 10am. She wondered if Greg was still at work, or if he had

decided to go straight home instead of seeing her. Before she got up she grabbed the bottle of pain killers

from her bed side table, pouring a couple into her hand, before taking them with the glass of water beside her.

Once she'd taken them she slowly pulled herself out of bed, sitting on the edge for a moment before getting

up. She could hear muffled voices and figured Ashlee and Danny must already be up.

As she left her room she headed toward the voices, which were coming from the kitchen, she could hear

Ashlee laughing and wondered what they were talking about.

As she got to the kitchen she froze in the doorway seeing Ashlee wasn't talking to Danny, but Greg. He had

his back to her, but turned as soon as he noticed Ashlee look over his shoulder. He gave Phoebe a smile,

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hi," she replied, with a small smile.

"Uh… I think I'll go check I got everything packed," Ashlee said, making her excuse to leave the two alone. She

gave them both a smile before she left the room.

"So, I got your message," Greg smiled.

Phoebe smiled back, "Yeah, I don't think it made much sense," she admitted.

He gave a small laugh, "Not really."

She took a step closer to him, "I just wanted to say… well I'm sorry for being a bitch," she said.

"Pheebs, you weren't a bitch," he replied gently.

"I felt like one…" she admitted, "I just… I don't know why I was scared but…"

Greg looked toward her, "You know you don't need to explain it to me, I understand," he reassured her.

She looked down at the floor for a moment, before looking back up at him, "Greg, I was just scared, I mean I

always thought Chris was someone I could trust, but then he cheated on me, and then he did… well, y'know…

" she trailed off for a second. "And then when I heard they had let him out, it just freaked me out and I got

scared all over again, and I know that wasn't your fault, so…"

He nodded slightly, "Phoebe, its ok," he told her.

She stared at him for a moment, not really sure what to say next, after a few seconds she sighed, and sat

herself on the spare kitchen stool beside him, Greg stared down at her, he really wanted to just reach out and

take her hand, but was unsure. After a moment of hesitation he reached forward and gently took her hand in

his, smiling to himself when she didn't pull away, "It was kinda hard not to think I'd done something wrong,"

he said quietly.

She looked up at him, "Greg, I'm so sorry, I never meant for that…"

"Hey, its ok, really," he said, giving her hand a squeeze, "Just next time, talk to me?"

She nodded, "I will," she replied quietly, before slowly leaning over, resting her head on his shoulder. He

smiled to himself and leaned down, placing a light kiss on her hair, she pulled back slightly and looked up at

him, "Y'know, I hate these chairs, lets go sit in the other room," she said.

He smiled, as they stood up and, hand in hand, headed toward the lounge. Greg sat down on the sofa and

Phoebe placed herself beside him. She stared at him for a moment, before asking in a quiet voice, "So, are we

friends again?"

Greg responded with a look, causing her to add "Ok… more then just friends, I hope." At this he gave her a

smile, and reached out his arm, she smiled back and rested herself against his shoulder, with his arm round

her.

"Phoebe, I mean I know I'm not perfect, but I just don't think I could ever hurt someone deliberately like that,"

he told her, "Especially not you."

"I know," she said softly, before smiling to herself, "Well, apart from Grandma Thea's cat,"

He grinned, "Hey that was an accident," he defended.

She smiled, "Yeah, I guess so, but I doubt the cat saw it that way," she teased.

He laughed, "The cat was fine… after a while,"

She gave a quiet laugh, "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Hey guys" Ashlee interrupted as she entered the room, "I'm glad to see everything's ok," she smiled.

Phoebe smiled at her, "Everything's fine… what time you leaving?" she asked.

"In about an hour or so," she told her.

"Ok, so I got time to shower," Phoebe smiled.

.

It was a few days later, and as much as Phoebe was glad Danny was still there she was beginning to

remember how very much over protective and big brotherly like he could be when living with him.

She was reaching up to grab something in the kitchen when Danny appeared, "Pheebs, let me get that," he

said, as he reached over her grabbing it.

She sighed, "Danny, I'm not an invalid," she reminded him.

"I never thought you were," he returned, placing the packet she had been reaching for on the counter in front

of her.

She turned to stare up at him, "Danny you know I can do things for myself," she told him.

"Phoebe, I just grabbed a bag of pasta for you," he said.

"Yeah but its not just that, you keep asking me how I am every two minutes, and you make sure I don't exert

myself too much, and you wont let me go out for too long. I mean c'mon yesterday we were meant to spend

the day taking you round Vegas and after just a couple of hours you're dragging me home telling me I need to

rest!" she exclaimed.

Danny sighed, "Tubbs… I'm sorry, I don't mean to…"

"I know, I'm sorry," she began, "It's just, I'm a big girl now, and I can take care of myself, and I really

appreciate you being here, I do, its just, it would be nice if I didn't feel like I was 13 years old again," she told

him.

He smiled at her, "Your right, I'm sorry, I'm just worried about you, that's all, I forget my little sister isn't so

little anymore."

She smiled, "No, she's all grown up,"

"How could I forget that," he said as he leaned forward to give her a hug. She just smiled, hugging him back.

Once they pulled apart she looked down at her watch, it was gone 4, which meant Greg should be awake by

now.

"I'm gonna call Greg," she told him, grabbing her cell from the kitchen side, "Any problem with that?" she

teased.

He just smiled, "Very funny," he rolled his eyes and headed out the kitchen.

She dialled the, by now, familiar numbers and didn't have to wait long before he answered, "Hello?"

"Hey," she smiled, "I hope I didn't wake you."

"I was awake its ok," he assured her, "Actually I was just about to call you,"

"You were?" she asked.

"Yeah, I swapped my night off with Sara, so I'm off tonight now, I thought maybe we could do something, if

you wanted?" he asked.

She smiled to herself, "I would love to," she looked round to make sure Danny was out of earshot, "Danny is

driving me mad," she explained.

She heard him laugh on the other end of the phone, "Being the typical big brother huh?"

"He's more like my dad, though I just told him to stop, so I'm hoping he might have listened to me this time,"

she explained.

"This time?" he questioned.

"Oh yeah, I always tell him, but he doesn't listen, it's like a routine we have… so what you have in mind for

tonight?" she asked, eager to get out the apartment, even if just for a few hours.

"How about dinner?" he asked.

"That sounds great," she replied.

"Shall I pick you up at around 7.30?"

"I'll be ready," she returned.

"Great, so I'll see you then," Greg said.

"Sure, bye,"

"Bye," he said, before she hung up, she looked over at the bag of pasta, after all that she didn't even need it.

.

At 7.30 Phoebe was pacing the living room waiting for Greg, she'd been ready for over an hour and was

getting bored. As soon as she heard the door go she rushed to answer it, Danny laughed to himself watching

her.

She pulled the door open and smiled, "Hey," Greg smiled at her, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi," she smiled back, "Lets go," she said, turning to call over her shoulder, "Bye Danny, see you later!"

They heard him call back, "Have a good night," before she pulled the door shut behind her, Greg laughed, "You

really are desperate to get out aren't you?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I feel like I been stuck there for months instead of a week."

"Well, I'm glad I could come save you from your prison," he joked.

.

It was a few hours later, they had finished eating and were walking down the strip.

"You ready to head home?" Greg asked her.

"Not just yet," she replied, snuggling up closer to him.

He wrapped an arm round her, "Ok, we don't have to leave yet."

"Good," she smiled, as they walked a bit further. After a while she stopped, realising they were stood near of

the fountains at the Bellagio. "I love watching these," she told him

"Yeah?" he asked.

She nodded, "I remember when I saw Oceans Eleven at the movies, I thought they looked really cool," she

told him.

"They are pretty cool, I guess living here as long as I have I don't really pay them much attention," he

admitted.

She turned to look up at him, "Sometimes its easy to miss the beautiful things right in front of you."

"Well I noticed you right away, so I cant be too blind," he said quietly.

She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Well Greg Sanders… you certainly know the right

things to say."

He grinned "Yeah?"

She nodded, leaning up to kiss him. It was the first time she'd really kissed him since before the incident with

Chris. It was a soft, gentle kiss. Greg snaked his arms round her waist, pulling her closer to him. She ran her

fingers through his hair, as the kiss became more passionate.

It was Phoebe who pulled back first, trying to catch her breath, "Mmm… I've missed that."

"Me too," he murmured, leaning back down to kiss her once more.

.

It was almost 12 when Greg walked Phoebe to her door. They stopped when they reached the apartment,

Phoebe rooting through her bag for her keys, as she pulled them out she looked up at Greg.

He smiled down at her, "You gonna be alright going back in there?" he teased.

She smiled, "Yeah, I think I can cope… but uh, thanks for taking me out, I had a great night, made me feel a bit

more normal."

"Well, I'm glad to have helped," he grinned.

Phoebe smiled back, before standing on her tip toes to give him a kiss, it was a sweet soft kiss, and when

they pulled back they paused staring at each other for a moment, "Well, I should go in, before Danny sends

out a search party," she joked, a small smile playing on her lips.

Greg laughed, "We don't want that… I'll give you a call in the morning," he told her.

"Good," she smiled, as she slowly unlocked the door, but only opening it an inch, looking back up at Greg.

"Good night," he said.

"Sweet dreams," she returned, as he leaned down placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," he replied.

Phoebe nodded slowly, "Night," she told him softly, as she pushed open the door, turning to give him one last

smile, before closing it behind her.

As she headed into the living room she found Danny still up, watching TV, "Are you waiting up for me?" she

questioned.

"No… I was just watching something on the TV," he replied, "So, did you have a good night?" he asked her, as

she kicked off her shoes and collapsed into the arm chair.

She smiled, "Yeah, I had a great night, thanks."

"Well good… you needed it," he replied. She just smiled at him, "Oh uh, I spoke to Jamie," he told her. Jamie

was their brother, the next oldest after Danny, and the two were partners in a law firm together.

Phoebe nodded, "How is he?"

"He's good, but I need to get a flight back tomorrow night, I know it's a few days early but we have this client

I need to see…" he trailed off, he could see her look change as he told her.

"Oh… well that's uh, ok," she replied, the truth was, as annoying as Danny might be she liked having him

around, she felt safe when he was there, and she didn't really like the idea of being alone.

"Well, if you really don't want me to I can always try and change it," he said.

She shook her head, "Danny if it wasn't important then you wouldn't have to go early, I'll be fine," she said.

"Maybe Ash could come back for a few days," he suggested, "you know so you're not on you own."

Again she shook her head, "I don't wanna mess her about, and besides, I got Greg and Nick if anything goes

wrong," she reminded him.

He nodded, "Ok, but you know if you want me to…" She cut him off,

"Danny, I know you would stay, but you don't have to… promise," she said.

"Ok, well, if you're sure…"

She smiled, "I am," she insisted, standing up, "Well, I'm gonna head to bed, I'll see you in the morning," she

told him, as she leaned down, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Night Tubbs," he smiled, watching as she headed into her room, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

So there it is, hope you liked it. As I mentioned before I wrote this story years ago, and i've now posted what i'd written back then (with a few edits here and there.) So now I have to try writing the rest! I have written another chapter... though i'm not 100% sure if I'm happy with it yet. So please bear with me, I promise I will try to not leave you hanging too long. And any idea's or anything you have that might help, I would really appreciate! Thank you.


	14. Chapter 14

So here is the next chapter. Oh and please take time to read my note at the end, thanks.

* * *

Chapter 14

Greg was stood outside Phoebe's apartment, his cell phone to his ear. He could hear the phone ringing the

other side of the door, but no answer. He was about to knock on the door, which Phoebe had asked him not

to do, when she finally answered.

"Hello," he heard her sleepy voice.

"Hey, its me, sorry I didn't mean to wake you… but you told me to call, I'm outside," he told her.

"You are?" she asked, sounding a bit more awake.

"Yeah," he replied with a nod, even though she couldn't see.

"Right at the door?" she questioned.

"Yeah…" he gave the door a slight tap, "Right here."

"Ok, just a minute," she said, before she hung up the phone.

He put his cell in his pocket, and could hear a noise like the sound of furniture moving. He frowned to himself,

calling "Phoebe?"

"Hang on," he heard her reply.

It was the morning after his shift, and the first night Phoebe had spent alone since Danny had returned for

Chicago. He had spoken to her a few times throughout the night, and though she had tried to insist she was

fine he had a feeling she had been lying. Especially now as he heard another piece of furniture move, before

the chain was removed and the door unbolted before she finally opened it.

Once she had fully opened the door he stepped inside, taking in her appearance. She looked tired, like she

hadn't slept all night. Her hair was pulled back messily and she was wearing a pair of sweats with a vest top.

He noticed the large table, usually in the hallway was not where it normally lived and he guessed that was

what had been in front of the door, along with 2 of her dining chairs.

"Hey," she said, giving him a tired smile, leaning in to hug him.

"Hey," he returned, hugging her back.

"It's great to see you," she told him, still holding on tightly.

He smiled to himself, hugging her a minute longer before slowly pulling back.

"Phoebe?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Have you slept at all?"

She looked down at the floor, "Not really… I think I must have just fallen asleep before you got here," she

explained.

"Sweetie, why didn't you tell me you were having a bad night? I spoke to you at least 3 times."

She turned away, walking into the lounge. Greg followed her, noticing her duvet, along with her gun on a chair

opposite the front door. He was beginning to get a picture of how her night had gone.

"I didn't want you worrying, there was hardly anything you could have done while you were working," she

returned as she slumped down on the sofa.

He sat down beside her, "I could have... I don't know…" he tried, "Still you should have said something," he

finished.

She turned to look at him, "I know… I know, I just didn't want to seem like I couldn't deal with being on my

own… and I started out ok. I just tried to watch TV, but I kept thinking I could hear someone at the door, and

then I started to freak out… hence, well what you've seen," she finished.

He sighed, "Phoebe… there is nothing wrong with admitting you need some help. I hate the thought of you

being that scared that you've been sat in front of the door with you gun all night."

She looked down, feeling a little ashamed, "Greg… " She began, unsure really what she wanted to say.

"Hey, its ok, I understand, but you're coming to stay at mine until you're feeling better… ok," he finished, trying

to sound authoritative but not really succeeding.

She looked up at him, smiling, "Actually… I kinda already packed my bag."

He grinned, "Well that was easier then I expected."

She leaned up, kissing him, he wrapped an arm round her back, kissing her back. As he pulled away he gave

her a smile, "So… I bet you're tired."

"You can say that again," she confirmed.

He stood up, pulling her with him, "Come on then… lets go."

.

"Phoebe," Greg called, gently, as he sat himself beside her on the edge of the sofa.

She stirred, slowly opening her eyes, looking up at him, "Mmm, what time is it?" she asked, sitting herself

upright.

"9.30," Greg answered, "Why didn't you sleep in the bed?" he questioned.

"I meant to, I must have fallen asleep," she replied, rubbing at her eyes.

He leaned down, placing a kiss on her forehead, "I got breakfast," he told her, as he headed into the kitchen

to grab some plates.

"How was work?" she asked, as he reappeared, placing the food down on the table in front of them.

"Pretty busy, we had a triple homicide,"

"Who were you working with?" she questioned as she took a gulp of her O.J

"Grissom and Sara, they were asking how you are."

"Well if they would let me come back to work then they could ask me themselves," she said, looking across at

him.

He sighed, they had already had this same conversation a few times in the last couple of days, "Sweetie, I

know you want to go back but it's too early."

"It's been over 2 weeks, and I feel ok now. I hate just sitting about on my own all the time," she moaned.

"See what the doctor says tomorrow," he reminded her.

She sighed, "Fine," she slumped back onto the sofa, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Greg looked down, "Uh, there's something else I need to talk to you about."

"That doesn't sound good," she returned, sitting herself up a little straighter.

He turned himself to face her, taking one of her hands, "Grissom told me they have a date for Chris' trail."

"Already? But they usually take ages to come through…."

"I think they pushed for it, y'know what with him being a cop and the situation. It's July 21st."

"That's what, 2 and a half months!" she exclaimed "I just… I…" she trailed off, unsure how she felt about it.

"Phoebe?" Greg asked, "You ok?"

"I don't know… I mean half of me thinks that's so soon… I don't want to face Chris… ever, let alone in 2 and a

half months…" She stopped, taking a pause. "The other half of me is saying, that's ages away and I just want

it all out the way so I can finally forget about it."

He nodded, "That makes sense."

She let out a big sigh, "I don't know… I don't even know how to feel, I just hate it… everything."

He wrapped one arm round her, hugging her close to him, "I know… it'll all be ok though, we'll get though it."

"Maybe," she began, but then another though occurred to her, "what if he doesn't get found guilty?"

"He will, we know he is, the evidence is solid, please don't worry."

"Greg, you know as well as I do that doesn't always matter, I've seen cases like that where they bad guy got

away with it."

He put a hand to her face, "I promise you he is not going to get away with it," he said firmly. She looked down,

trying to believe him, "Hey, I promise, ok?"

She looked up at him, "Ok."

.

A few nights later and Phoebe was finally back at work. The doctor had advised that she should take another

week off, but after pleading, and insisting she would just stick to lab work, she was allowed back a week

early.

She was a little nervous about going back, she had only seen a few of them since the attack, and though she

looked a million times better then she had she still some slight bruising, and a scar across her forehead. Also

this was the first time seeing everyone since the news of her and Greg as a couple had become official. She

wasn't sure what reaction to expect.

She needed have worried, as soon as she got there she was showered with hugs and lots of 'so glad you're

back.'

Though she was extremely glad to be back it had only taken a few nights and she was itching to get back out

in the field.

She was in the AV lab with Archie, helping him look though surveillance footage. "Wait, stop," she said, "Isn't

that the vic?"

Archie looked at the screen, "Yep, that's her."

"You guys have anything?" the heard Nick, and looked up to see him entering the room.

"Yep, there's you vic, entering the suspects hotel room," Archie answered.

"Well that proves he was lying," Nick said, "I think I need to go back and talk to him. Thanks guys," he said as

he turned to leave.

"Nick, wait," Phoebe called, jumping up.

"Yeah?"

"Uh… you don't need a hand do you… I mean I could come with you?" she tried, smiling hopefully.

Nick gave a small laugh, "Sorry Pheebs, if I could take you with me I would…" he began.

"I won't tell anyone," she cut him off.

He just laughed, shaking his head, "See you guys later," he called as he headed out the room.

Phoebe huffed as she sat back down besides Archie, he gave her a small smile, "Man I thought if anyone

would take me out it would be Nick," she grumbled.

Archie just laughed, "Well you haven't tried Grissom yet," he said, reminding her everyone else had given her a

similar response to Nick.

"Oh yeah, thanks Archie, why didn't I think of asking Grissom," she said sarcastically.

"Asking me what?" they heard, and looked to see Grissom in the doorway.

Archie tried to hide a smile, while Phoebe quickly answered, "Oh, uh, nothing."

Grissom smiled, "Phoebe, I need to talk to you," he said, motioning for her to follow him.

"Uh sure," she said, glancing at Archie before following Grissom out the room toward his office.

She sat down and watched as Grissom shut the door, "Uh, Grissom, y'know I wouldn't really go out into the

field, I know I have a few days left," she said nervously.

He smiled at her as he sat down, "I know, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, Ok… uh what's up?" she asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about Officer Merkoff's trial," he began.

"Oh…" she said quietly.

"The DA has been going through all the evidence and he wants to meet with you and prepare you."

"Grissom, its ok, I mean it's not like I haven't been in court before…" she began.

"Yes, but you've never been the victim having to give evidence before," he reminded her.

She looked down, fiddling with her watch strap. "Phoebe…" Grissom began, causing her to look up, "I know

this trial will be difficult, but try and imagine this were a case you were working on, wouldn't you advise the

victim to meet with the DA?"

She sighed, "I know… it's just, if I'm honest I've been trying not to think about it," she admitted.

"That's understandable," he nodded.

"When will the DA be here?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, if you come in early for you shift, he'll be here."

"Tomorrow? But it's not for another 8 weeks…" she trailed off, she thought she might have longer to put off

thinking about it.

"I know, but he wants to talk to you while things are still fresh in your memory," Grissom said.

Phoebe nodded, "Sure, I guess… so was there anything else?

"That's all," he assured her.

"OK, thanks," she said as she stood up, "I should get back to Archie."

"Oh and Phoebe," he called.

"Yeah?" she asked turning back to him.

"If I catch you going into the field before your first week is up I'll make you take that extra week off."

She gave him a sheepish look, "I'm sorry Grissom, and I promise I'll stay in the lab."

.

It was the next morning and Greg and Phoebe had just settled down together in bed.

"So," Greg began, "You couldn't persuade anyone to take you out with them?"

"No," she sighed.

"Well, only a few more nights and you'll be free," he joked.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Everything ok?" he asked, turning on his side to face her.

"Yeah… its just, well I have to meet with the DA later," she explained.

"Phoebe…" he began.

"I know, I know… it'll be fine," she cut him off, "that's what everyone keeps telling me."

Greg sighed, looking her in the eyes, "I'm sorry…" he paused, thinking what to say. "I can't imagine how you

feel, and I know you must be getting tired of us all saying everything will be fine… its just, well I think I know

you pretty well by now, and I know you're going to be ok. No matter how difficult it is, you'll get through it,

because you're strong, and you won't let Chris beat you."

"Greg… I don't know, I haven't been feeling very strong recently," she admitted, quietly.

"Are you kidding me? Phoebe after everything you've been through, you're doing great," he assured her.

"Greg, c'mon, I didn't speak to you for two days cause I was scared, I discharged myself early from the

hospital, and couldn't even spend one night home alone without freaking out, and I've since been crashing

here everyday without barely going home cause it reminds me of what happened."

He put a hand up to her face, "Those are all natural things to do, and you're being too hard on yourself."

"Maybe…God, I don't know, I just want to forget about it all, not sit in court in front him, and everyone else

and re live it all," her voice cracked.

Greg pulled her toward him, "It's not fair, you shouldn't have to go through any of this, I wish I could take your

place."

She smiled to herself, "Thank you, but I wouldn't want you going through it either, and you must know without

you I don't think I _would've_got through any of this."

"Well then I guess I should stick around a bit longer then."

Phoebe looked up at him, smiling, "You'd better do," she said, as she reached up to kiss him. He kissed her

back, pulling her closer, and she pushed all thoughts about Chris and the trail to the back of her mind. She

would keep them there until she had no choice but to talk about it.

.

The weeks seemed to be passing far too quickly and the day of the trial was looming closer and closer. Phoebe

had met with the DA a few times, and they had been over what happened that day again and again. It had

left her feeling drained.

If it wasn't for the fact she was now back out in the field she wasn't sure she would be able to keep going.

That and Greg, who was there for her every time she wanted to vent, or cry, or just forget about everything.

The relationship she had with Greg was so different then the one she'd had with Chris. The more she thought

about it the more she found herself questioning why she had stuck with him so long, let alone agreed to marry

him.

"Phoebe?" she looked up from behind her camera to see Sara calling her name.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"I just said I'm gonna head back to the lab… I called you about three times, everything ok?" Sara asked.

"Oh, sorry," Phoebe said, standing upright, "Just uh… in a world of my own," she admitted. "I'm fine," she

added, of Sara's look, "I'll see you back at the lab."

Sara paused, before just nodding her head, "Sure."

Phoebe watched her leave before trying to focus back on the job in front of her, though if she was being

honest with herself that hadn't been what she had been thinking about before.

"Y'know, you don't have to always tell people you're fine, we would understand that you're not," she heard

the voice from behind her, and didn't have to turn around to know Nick was there.

She crouched back down, taking another photo, "I know… but I'm sure no one really wants to hear me tell

them that I can't sleep properly, and every time I think about the trial I feel sick to the stomach, and no I'm not

fine, but thanks for asking," she finished, standing back up and turning round to face him.

"Phoebe," he sighed.

"Nick… really, its ok, as soon as the trial is over I can start to get back on track, hopefully, but until then I'm

just doing my best," she said, giving him a small smile.

He returned her smile, "And you're doing great…"

"But," she prompted, feeling that's what was coming.

"But…" Nick began, "You shouldn't keep too much bottled up, it's not good for you."

"I'm not… I just don't wanna talk about it every five minutes."

He sighed, "I'm not saying that Phoebe… but, Greg told me he's worried about you…"

She looked up at him, "Well Greg worries too much."

At this Nick smiled, "You might be right there."

She turned to him, "Nick, listen, I appreciate the concern, really I do, and I know if I want to talk to you I can,

but really, I'm doing ok."

He nodded, "Ok."

"Thank you… now lets finish up here," she said as she returned her concentration to the job at hand.

.

The next morning Phoebe and Greg had just arrived home, they hadn't seen each other much at work as they

had been working different cases.

"So, how was you're shift?" Greg asked, as Phoebe kicked her shoes off, throwing her bag on the floor.

"Ok… I was talking to Nick…" she began, watching as he sat on the sofa.

He looked up at her, "Yeah…"

"Yeah," she began as she sat down beside him, "And he said you're worried about me."

"You already know that," he reminded her.

"Greg… I know… but I wish you wouldn't," she told him.

He gave her a smile, "Well I'm going to anyway… at least until the trials over with."

She opened her mouth to say something but paused, Greg noticed this. "What?"

"There is something…" she began.

"What is it?"

"I uh… I've been thinking about the trial, and what if Chris goes free…"

"Phoebe, we've already been through this, he won't…" Greg cut her off.

She put her hands up, "Please… I know it not likely… but I need to think about what I'm gonna do if it does

happen," she told him. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped, letting her finish. "Its just I've

been thinking, and I need to consider the possibility that he might get away with it…" she saw the look Greg

gave her, "Even if it is only a slim chance," she added.

"Ok… so if he does get off…" he prompted.

"Well… I just… I've been thinking that… well… I might go back to Chicago," she told him quietly.

"What?" he asked, looking surprised.

"Greg…" she began, taking his hands in hers, "I don't want to leave… but if Chris goes free and is allowed back

to work, I mean, I just couldn't carry on working here."

"I understand… but, I guess I hadn't really thought about it," he admitted.

"It's not definite…. It's just something I've been thinking about… "she said. She could see he looked pretty

deflated, "Honey, please, you know I want to be with you… and if I thought you would come with me I would

ask but…"

He looked up, "Me go with you to Chicago?" he sounded surprised.

"Yeah… but I know it's too much to ask you to move," she said.

"I uh… I don't know…" he began, unsure what to say.

"Its ok… you don't need to say anything… I just wanted to let you know what I was thinking." She put a hand

up to his cheek before leaning forward to kiss him. He kissed her back, with more urgency then he should, the

words of their conversation still ringing in his ears, and the thought of losing her fresh in his mind. She pulled

back, taken by surprise at the intenseness of his kiss, but he only gave her a moment before pulling her back,

kissing her fervently. With all the stress of the past few weeks and everything she had been going through

she was thankful for the distraction and didn't resist as he leaned over her, laying her down on the sofa. Her

kisses now matching his with their urgency, and she pulled him closer to her. She felt him begin to unbutton

her blouse and could feel her conscience try and pull her back into more troubling thoughts but she pushed

them away and let herself enjoy being with Greg completely, everything else could wait.

* * *

Ok, so there it is, and I have to admit I'm not sureIi'm 100% happy with that chapter. The last chapter only got 1 review, so I'm feeling a little disheartened, as I know a lot of you have the story on your alert, and favourite list. I don't want to keep going on but I really would love some more reviews. Especially now... as when I said I would appreciate some idea's, what I should have said is I am pretty stuck, and NEED some idea's.  
I'm unsure now if I should try wrap things up (Which I have always struggled with endings to any story) or add some more drama... which I kinda maybe have a few idea's about, but not sure. So please help me, as I really want to do the story justice and have a great end, not just a boring one.

So enough nagging, hope you are still enjoying the story, I'm still enjoying writing it... so please help :D Thanks.


	15. Chapter 15

Ok, so i've decided how I want this to go, and I hope you guys like it. So, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 15

"Hey Grissom?" Phoebe asked, standing in the doorway to his office.

He looked up, "Phoebe, is everything ok?" he asked as she headed into the room.

"I was looking at the rota for next week, and I'm off… all week," she said.

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

"But I didn't ask for any time off," she added.

"I know, but I think it would do you good to have some time before the trial," he explained.

"But… what am I going to do with a whole week?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," he said with a smile.

She frowned, "Can't I just work?"

"Phoebe, take the week off," he told her.

She nodded slowly, "Ok, thanks I guess," she said, turning and heading back out into the lab.

She headed into the break room and found Greg, sat with Warrick and Nick, "Hey," she greeted them,

slumping down in the chair beside Greg.

He smiled at her, "Hey, what's up?" he asked, noticing she seemed irritated about something.

"Grissom gave me next week off," she explained with a sigh.

"And you're not happy about it?" Nick asked.

"I don't want a week off," she said, "What am I gonna do with a week off?"

"If Grissom gave me a week off I could think of plenty of things I'd like to do," Warrick told her.

She gave him a small smile, "You can have my week off and I'll take your shifts?" she offered.

Warrick laughed, "Girl, take your week off and enjoy it," he said, standing up, "Anyway, Nick we should get

going," he said to Nick.

"Yeah, "Nick agreed standing up, "see you guys later." As Greg and Phoebe called goodbye, he stopped in the

doorway, turning back, "Oh and Phoebe, take the week off… enjoy it," he told her.

"Sure sure," she smiled at him.

Once they were alone Greg turned to Phoebe, "Honey, a week off will do you good," he told her.

"Why… and what am I gonna do, just sit about on my own?"

"Well… why don't you go to Chicago, see your family," he suggested.

"I…" she paused, "I hadn't thought of that," she admitted.

He smiled, "It would be good for you, before the trial, get away for a week."

She sighed, "Yeah… I guess so," she leaned her head on his shoulder.

He ran a hand over her hair, "Just relax and enjoy it."

She smiled, "Ok… if I have to."

.

It was the night before Phoebe's flight to Chicago. She and Greg were out having dinner.

"So, you looking forward to seeing everyone?" he asked her.

"Yeah, of course, I just… I don't know…" she trailed off.

"You just what?" he questioned.

"Its been a while since I've been back in Chicago, and the last time I was there Chris and I were planning our

wedding… which sounds crazy now," she paused, "I guess its just gonna be a little weird," she finished.

"I can understand that," he began, "But I just think once you're there, with all your family and friends you

won't even think about any of that stuff," He assured her.

"Maybe you're right," she thought aloud.

"Didn't I tell you… I'm always right?" he grinned.

She gave a small laugh, "And modest too huh."

He laughed, "But seriously, stop worrying so much about everything, please just try and relax and have a

great week."

"Ok, ok, I'll try... if I have to," she added with a small smile.

"That's better," he said.

"So," she began, changing the subject, "how are you going to cope without me?" she joked.

"Oh I'm sure I'll survive, it is only a week after all," he smiled, leaning over to kiss her, "Just make sure you

come back," he added, once they broke apart. She just gave him a small laugh in response, leaning over to

kiss him once more.

.

It was a few days later, and Phoebe was at her parents house. She was with her mom in the kitchen, busy

cooking up a big dinner for the whole family.

"You know I miss this," she told her mom.

Her mom looked up at her with a smile, "Me too."

"You're gonna have to come to Vegas and cook me up some of your home made dinners," Phoebe said.

"I would love to come and visit you in Vegas… besides I need to meet Greg," her mom added with a smile.

"You know you're always welcome to come and visit me… and I really want you to meet Greg," Phoebe replied,

"I hope you like him," she added.

"Oh Honey, I don't need to meet him to know I like him," her mom smiled, "Even without seeing you everyday I

can see just how happy he makes you."

Phoebe couldn't help but blush slightly, smiling to herself, "He does make me happy… really happy."

"Well, he gets my vote… and Ashlee spoke very highly of him, even Danny liked him, and you know what it

takes to get his approval," her mom joked.

Phoebe laughed, "That's very true, I think he must be the first boyfriend I've ever had Danny likes."

"I think you're right."

Phoebe just smiled, pausing, "Mom…" she began.

"Yes Sweetie?" Phoebe stopped what she was doing and looked across at her mom, "Phoebe what is it?" she

asked, also stopping what she was doing.

"I'm really worried about the trial," Phoebe admitted.

"Oh Honey, it's only natural to be worried," her mom said, "You just need to think positively, and from what

I've heard it doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about."

She gave her mom a slightly quizzical look, "How much have you heard?"

Her mom gave a small laugh, "Oh sweetie, I know you can't have been away from home long enough to forget

what your brother's are like. Especially Danny, he's a lawyer, he knows almost everything about the case. He

has spoken to the DA, Greg, your friend Nick… even your boss…"

"He spoke to Grissom? None of them told me they'd spoken to him," Phoebe sounded a little annoyed.

"Would you really expect them to?"

"I guess not… anyway, even if it's unlikely, I still need to prepare myself for the worst… just in case."

Her mom sighed, "Honey…"

"Mom, please," Phoebe stopped her.

Her mom held her hands up, "Ok, sorry… but, sweetie, you've always been this way, prepare for the worst just

in case. Well maybe this time you should just see what happens, and try and think positively."

Phoebe sighed, "I know you're right… its just have this feeling that something bad is going to happen, and I

just cant shake it," she admitted.

"Phoebe," he mom began, bringing her hands to Phoebe's face, "Relax… enjoy yourself, and for once try to

stop worrying about everything."

Phoebe gave her a small smile, "Ok, I'll try."

"Good," her mom responded, pulling her into a hug. "Now," she said, once she pulled back, "We best carry on

with this dinner, or we'll have a very hungry family to deal with."

.

It was a few days later, Phoebe checked her watch, making sure it wasn't too early in Vegas to be calling

Greg.

He answered after just two rings, "Hey."

"Hey," she replied.

"So, how's things back home?" he asked.

"Great actually," she admitted, "I'm really glad I came, I forgot how much a miss everyone."

"See, what did I tell you?"

She smiled, "Yeah I know, you were right… so how's work going?"

"Oh you know, same old stuff," he told her, "I really miss you though."

"I miss you too," she replied.

"That's good to know," he returned with a small laugh, "So, what have you been up to?"

Phoebe smiled, and told him what she had been doing; they were on the phone for almost an hour when Greg

had to go to get ready for work.

She had only been away for four days, but she missed him like crazy. She was beginning to realise that no

matter what the outcome of the trial she was unlikely to come home. She loved seeing her family, and missed

them when she was in Vegas, but not as much as she was missing Greg right now.

.

Her week home had gone far too quickly, and she was now at the airport waiting to board the plane. She

pulled her phone out and called Greg. As usual she didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"Hi Honey," he greeted her.

"Hey… I'm just waiting to board," she told him.

"Ok, I'll be waiting for you when you land," he promised.

"Great, I can't wait to see you," she said.

"Me too… it feels like it's been a lot longer then a week," he returned.

"Tell me about it… oh, they just called my section, I gotta go."

"Ok, have a safe flight, and I'll see you really soon."

"Ok, bye," she said, as she put the phone in her bag, joining the queue to board.

.

It was now an hour since her plane had landed, and there was still no sign of Greg. She had tried calling him

what felt like a million times, but no answer. She waited ten more minutes before she gave up and dialled

another number.

"Hey Phoebe," she heard Nick though the phone.

"Hi Nick… have you heard from Greg recently?" she asked him.

"No, why?"

"He was meant to come get me from the airport almost an hour ago and he still isn't here, I've tried calling him

but there's no answer," she explained.

"Maybe he got held up in traffic," he reasoned.

"But he would have called or text to let me know," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, you're right… I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation," he told her, hearing the worry in her voice.

"I don't know, it's not like him, I'm getting kinda worried," she told him.

"You want me to come get you?" he asked.

"No, its ok, I'll get a cab. But could you head over to the apartment and see if he is there?"

"Sure, I'll head over now."

"Thanks Nick," she replied.

"No problem, just try not to worry."

"I'll try… speak to you soon," she said before hanging up the phone.

It wasn't much later and she was sat in the back of a cab on her way home. She had tried calling Greg a few

more times, but still it just rang and rang. She kept having images of him being in an accident, or something

worse.

She was sat staring out the window when her phone began to ring, making her jump, she quickly looked at

the screen, hoping it was Greg. But it was Nick's name flashing up, "Hey Nick," she answered, "Have you found

him?" she asked hopefully.

"No, sorry Pheebs," he replied, "I've tried knocking and calling, but nothing. I can't see his car in the lot either,

so it looks like he must have left."

She sighed, "What the hell is going on," she said quietly.

"Listen, I'll try calling Grissom, see if he got called in early. You on your way here?"

"Yeah, I should be home soon," she told him.

"Ok, I'll wait for you here."

"Thanks Nick, I'll see you soon," she said, before hanging up the phone. She stared out the window, chewing

on her nails, trying her hardest not to panic.

.

It was 15 minutes before Phoebe arrived back at the apartment. As she got out the cab she spotted Nick get

out his car and head over to her. As he reached her he gave her a hug, "Hey Pheebs," he greeted.

"Hi," she replied, once they had pulled apart.

He could see how worried she was, "I'm sure he's fine," he tried to reassure her.

"God I hope you're right," she replied, "Did you call Grissom?"

He nodded, "Yeah, he didn't call him into work," he told her.

"Where is he?" she muttered slowly as they headed into the apartment complex.

Once they got to the apartment Phoebe couldn't help but feel a little nervous as she opened the door. She felt

her heart pound a little faster as she pushed the door open, slowly heading inside.

She called out Greg's name, heading inside. There was nothing out of place, and no sign of Greg. She checked

every room twice, before accepting he wasn't there.

"He must have left… if his car isn't here… what if he had an accident?" she asked, looking up at Nick.

"When did you last speak to him?" Nick asked.

"Just before I boarded… about 5 hours ago," she said, "He promised me he would be there waiting for me."

Nick could see the worry in her eyes, "Ok, why don't I call Brass and ask him to put out an APB on his car?"

"Would he do that?"

"I'm sure he would," Nick said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Phoebe listened as he spoke to Brass, explaining the situation. She was trying to think of what she could do,

rather then just let her imagination run away with her. Her only thought was to ring around the hospitals.

"Ok, Brass will do that, he said he would call me if they find him," Nick told her as he put the phone down.

She nodded and was about to say something when the sound of her phone ringing interrupted. She pulled it

out her pocket, looking at the screen. She felt herself instantly relax as she saw Greg's name flashing on the

screen.

"Greg, thank god," she answered, "Where are you? I've been so worried."

"Aww, how sweet, you needn't worry about me," the voice on the other end of the phone replied.

Phoebe felt the colour drain from her face, her pulse pounding in her ears, as she managed to say in a choked

voice, "Chris."

* * *

So... there it is! Hope you guys like it. Sorry its a short chapter, but I wanted to end with a bit of a cliff hanger. Please review and let me know what you think, and I will try update soon.


	16. Chapter 16

Hello, thank you everyone for all the follows and reviews! mylane, Shadowchaser56 and JodieOhh thank you, I really appreciate the comments. So here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16

_"Greg, thank god," she answered, "Where are you? I've been so worried."_

"Aww, how sweet, you needn't worry about me.," the voice on the other end of the phone replied.

Phoebe felt the colour drain from her face, her pulse pounding in her ears, as she managed to say in a choked voice,

"Chris."

Nick looked at her, shocked as she said Chris's name. He could see Phoebe's hand shaking as she gripped the

phone so tightly her knuckles were white.

"Oh, you still remember me… I'm touched," Chris said down the other end of the phone.

"What have you done to Greg?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Oh nothing much… not yet anyway."

"What do you want?" she asked desperately.

She heard him laugh cruelly, "What do you think Phoebe?"

"Please don't hurt him… I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt him," she felt her voice break.

"Touching, really… but you'll have to wait," he told her, "I'll call again when I'm ready."

"Wait, please…" she tried, but he'd already hung up.

She looked up at Nick, the tears she had been trying to hold back slowly creeping out, "Oh God… Nick."

Nick, who had been momentarily stunned, not for one minute ever guessing Chris would take Greg, reached

out for her, pulling her into a hug. "We'll find him, I promise," he said, trying to calm her, "Come on, we need to

get to the lab."

As Nick drove them to the lab he rang Grissom and filled him in. Phoebe sat staring out the window. Of all the

things she had been imagining had happened to Greg, this was never one of them. She felt like she was about

to explode, and needed to get to the lab, the sooner they got there the sooner she could get to work, doing

something, anything, to find Greg.

Not long later and they were in the lab, all stood in the evidence room. Grissom had filled everyone in.

"I've got a unit going over to Chris's apartment," Brass said.

"He won't be there," Phoebe said quietly.

"I don't expect he will be, but we might be able to find something that tells us where he is," Grissom said.

"We need to trace Greg's cell phone," Nick said, "That's what he was calling from."

"Archie is already on it," Catherine replied.

"And that's most likely what he'll use to call back," Nick added.

"Phoebe, we'll need your phone," Catherine told her, "For when he call's back."

Phoebe nodded, pulling her phone out her pocket, her hands still shaking slightly.

Sara, who hadn't been in the room, walked in, "I spoke to his probation officer, he checked in yesterday, but

not today" she informed the group.

At this point Brass's phone began to ring, he answered it, and was only on the phone for a few seconds

before hanging up, "Ok," he began, looking up at the group, "They found Greg's car, its out on East Sunset

Road… looks like he got a flat tyre," he told them.

"Right, Warrick, Sara, I want you over there, Catherine, Nick, I want you over at Merkoff's place, search every

inch, see if you can find anything that will help us," Grissom told them.

Phoebe jumped up, "What about me?"

Grissom paused, looking at her, "Phoebe, you need to stay here, ready for when he call's again," he told her.

"But I need to do something, please; I can't just sit around and wait," she added quietly.

"Phoebe, we'll be back with some evidence to go through, until then, just hang tight," Nick said, giving her arm

a squeeze.

"I need you to talk to me," Brass told her, "Tell me everything you can about Merkoff, anything that might

help."

She sighed, "I don't know what I can tell you that you don't already know… but fine," she sighed.

"Ok, we'll check back in soon," Nick said, as they all headed out the room. Phoebe watched them all go, she

felt helpless, wanting to go out with them. She just prayed Greg was ok.

.

Greg slowly opened his eyes, his head felt heavy. He tried to move but found he couldn't. He was on the floor

with his hands bound behind his back. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. It appeared he was in a

motel room, a cheap one at that. He managed to sit himself up, but groaned out in pain.

He tried to remember what had happened. He had been on his way to get Phoebe from the airport when he

got a flat tyre. He'd stopped to replace it, and then… well he couldn't remember exactly. Someone had jumped

him from behind, he hadn't been expecting it, and he was caught unawares. He had a feeling he knew who it

was, and wasn't at all surprised when the door opened and Chris entered the room.

He smirked when he saw Greg, "Look who's awake."

"What do you want with me?" Greg asked.

"I don't want anything with_ you_," Chris told him, "But you will help me get what I want."

"Phoebe," Greg said, realising this was all about her.

"You catch on quick lover boy."

"She doesn't love you anymore," Greg said.

Chris laughed, "Maybe not, doesn't change anything."

"Why can't you just leave her alone?" he asked.

"Why would I do that?" Chris asked, "She agreed to marry me, you think something like that can just be

forgotten?"

Greg shook his head, "You're the one who cheated on her," he reminded him.

"Well she was never meant to find out" Chris responded.

"You really are an idiot," Greg couldn't help himself; "I'd never throw away what I have with her."

Chris punched him hard in the jaw, causing him to fall back down, and then kicked him in the stomach. Greg

groaned before spitting out a mouthful of blood, "Is this what you did to Phoebe?" he asked, "And you expect

to get her back?"

"You should keep quiet," Chris threatened, pulling his gun out, pointing it in Greg's direction.

.

Phoebe was sat in the AV lab, they had connected her phone up so that when Chris rang they could try and

trace the call. When he rang she needed to be there to answer.

Brass had asked her a lot of questions about Chris, but nothing that seemed to help them.

She looked at her watch, it was only 9pm, she felt like she'd been there all day rather then a few hours.

As Grissom entered the room, she jumped up, "Did they find anything?" she asked.

"Nick and Catherine are still searching his apartment, but so far they haven't found anything useful," he

began.

"What about Warrick and Sara?"

"Well, it looks like someone messed with Greg's tyres, causing the flat," he explained.

"What else did they find?" she pushed.

"Well… they found a tyre wrench with blood traces… and tyre treads belonging to another vehicle."

Phoebe nodded; she was trying to keep her emotions in check. "So will they be bringing the evidence in?" she

asked, hoping it would be something she could work on.

He nodded, "Warrick is on his way back with all they have, Sara is still at the scene."

"I want to process the evidence," she told him.

Grissom knew there was a conflict of interests, but that could be said for all of them, so he just nodded in

reply.

She nodded back, "Thank you."

.

Nick and Catherine were still at Chris's apartment. They had been through the whole place, every room, with a

fine tooth comb. But they had yet to find anything that gave them even the smallest clue as to where Chris

might have Greg.

However if they had had any doubt what Chris's aim was, one look in his apartment made it clear, he wanted

Phoebe.

There were old pictures of the two of them everywhere. Not only that, but there were a lot of pictures of

Phoebe, pictures of her at work, the store, with Greg. It was clear he had been following her.

"This is just creepy," Catherine muttered, as she picked up a pile of photos.

"I know," Nick replied. He looked over at Catherine, "He's obsessed with her."

"Which doesn't bode well for Greg," Catherine said gravely.

Nick looked at her, "No… there's got to be something here to help," he said. The two of them hurried along in

their work, desperate to find anything to help find their friend.

.

Phoebe finally had something to do, she was trying to get a match to the tyre impressions Sara and Warrick

had found. She had already compared them with the tyres on Chris's car, but they weren't a match. This hadn't

surprised her though as they had found his car still at his apartment. They were still waiting on the DNA results

from the blood found on the tyre wrench, as well as finger prints.

She was staring at the screen, willing it to give her the answers to find Greg. She heard a noise and looked up

to see Nick enter the room.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Nick… did you find anything?" she asked quickly.

He shook his head, "Nothing that will help… but uh, there is something you should know," he told her.

"What?" she questioned.

"Phoebe… you do know Chris is doing this to get you?"

"Well… I don't know… I mean I guess so… why?"

Nick sighed, "There's something I should show you."

"Nick, what is it?" she asked, getting worried.

"Just come and see," he said, heading out the room. She followed him down the corridor to the evidence room.

There laid out on the tables were pictures of her, a lot of pictures.

"Oh my god… he's been following me," she muttered.

As she looked over the photo's she noticed a few of her and Greg, and couldn't fail to notice the big black cross

over his face in a few, "Oh my god… we need to find him."

"Phoebe, we're going through everything," Nick began.

"But it's not good enough… we're no closer to finding him now then we were 5 hours ago!" she began, her

voice getting louder, "We need to do more!"

"Phoebe… I know it's frustrating," Nick began.

Phoebe looked up at him, she was about to respond when Grissom entered the room, "Phoebe," he said

urgently, "He's calling."

Phoebe rushed from the room into the AV lab; once she was there Archie pressed the button and answered

the call.

"Chris?" she said into the microphone they'd connected to the phone.

"Phoebe… did you miss me?" he mocked.

"What have you done to Greg?" she asked.

"Oh he's ok."

"Let me speak to him, please?" she pleaded.

"I don't think so," Chris replied coolly.

"Please, I just want to know he's ok… I'll do whatever you want, just please, let me speak to him?" she tried

desperately.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, everyone in the room held there breath.

After a few seconds Greg's voice finally came through, "Phoebe?"

"Greg!" she cried, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine," he said.

She couldn't help but give a small smile, "I'm so sorry… this is all my fault…"

"No, its not… Phoebe, please don't worry about me," he told her.

"Greg…" she began.

"I love you Phoebe," he said, cutting her off.

She felt the tears running down her face, they had never said those words before now, and she hated that

she would always remember this moment as the first time. "I love you too."

"Phoebe, please don't do what he tells you…" Greg began, but was cut off.

"No… wait…" Phoebe called desperately, but it was Chris's voice they heard next.

"That's enough… you spoke to him."

"What do you want from me Chris?" Phoebe shouted, "Just tell me!"

"I want you Phoebe… this is all for you."

"But why?" she asked quietly, more tears falling down her face.

"Do you remember when I proposed?" he asked her, his voice quieter now.

She nodded unconsciously, "Yes."

"You loved me then, didn't you?"

Another nod, "Yes," she replied quietly.

"We can have that again," he told her.

"Please Chris… don't do this…"

"I want you to meet me," he told her, his voice now changed, getting back to business.

"Where?" she asked.

"The place where I proposed… and I want you to come alone, unarmed… I mean it, if I see anyone else then

Sanders is dead, do you understand me?"

"But how…" she began, but her cut her off.

"Do you understand me?" he repeated more firmly.

"Yes," she said in little above a whisper, "I understand."

"Good… be there at 3am," he said.

"Wait… Chris!" Phoebe called, but the line went dead. "Dammit!" she cried, slamming her hands on the table.

Grissom looked to Archie, "Could you trace it?"

"He wasn't on the phone long… I'm just trying to triangulate the call now," he said, typing furiously on the

keys.

"Phoebe?" Nick asked, watching as she stood hunched over, her hands on the table in front of her. She tried

to compose herself, wiping the tears from her face as she stood up to face him.

He paused before asking, "Where did he propose?"

She seemed to pause, before quietly answering, "Chicago."

"What?" Grissom was the one to say.

"Why did he tell you to meet him there?" Nick questioned.

"I don't know," she shook her head slowly, looking down at her watch to check the time, 12.30.

"Where in Chicago did he propose?" Grissom questioned, "Maybe there is somewhere similar here."

She shook her head, "No… we were in our apartment," she explained.

"He can't possibly mean he wants to meet you at his apartment, he knows we'll be all over it," Nick thought

aloud, "So where in the hell is he talking about?" he sounded irate.

Phoebe looked up at him, "I don't know Nick, what do you want me to tell you?" She said, her voice getting

louder.

Nick stopped, he knew it wasn't her fault, "Phoebe," he began, his voice calmer.

She held her hands up, "Just leave it," she told him, walking out the room.

Nick sighed staring after her for a moment before turning back to Archie, "Please, Archie, man, tell me you have

something."

.

Greg lay on the floor, watching Chris as he talked to Phoebe. Hearing her voice, he could hear how scared she

was, and he knew she was scared for him, and not herself.

He'd been waiting a long time to tell her he loved her, but hadn't wanted to put any pressure on her. But he

figured, if you couldn't tell someone you loved them when your life was at risk, when could you.

He listened as Chris told her to come alone, and prayed she wouldn't. As Chris ended the conversation he

looked at Greg, he had a look of pure anger in his eyes, and Greg figured the 'I love you' hadn't gone down

too well.

He walked over and pulled him up by his collar, "I told you to talk to her, not declare your love!" he spat, as he

dropped him back down to the floor, before once again laying a few kicks into his abdomen. Greg tried his

hardest to stay quiet; he didn't want to give Chris the satisfaction of hearing his pain.

.

It was now about 1.30am, everyone had gathered in the evidence room. Archie had triangulated the call, so

they knew he had called from an area near Desert Hills, but it covered a large area and didn't really give them

much more then a starting point.

"Ok, what do we know," Grissom began.

"The blood on the tyre wrench is a match to Greg, and the prints to Merkoff," Warrick said.

"Which is what we were expecting," Grissom said.

"I checked the tyre treads, they belong to a Ford model, pre 1998… which doesn't really narrow it down much,"

Phoebe spoke up.

"Ok, well what about what he said… to meet where you proposed," Sara began, "That has to mean

something."

"We'll have officers posted outside his apartment, as well as Greg's and Phoebe's, just in case," Brass spoke

up.

"Is there anything else Phoebe… anything about his proposal that might help?" Catherine asked.

They all turned to look at her, she felt her heart pounding, sure they knew, "There was nothing he said, or did

that could relate to anywhere here," she said.

"Phoebe, I know it's not easy… but think really hard, anything you can think of," Nick said gently.

"Don't you think I've been doing that?" She yelled, finally breaking, "All I've been doing is going over and over

it again!"

"I'm sure you have, but…" Nick began.

"Stop it! I know you all think this is my fault… I'm the reason Chris has Greg… if anything happens to him it's

my fault!" she cried. "Don't you think I know that, I'll do anything I can," she looked directly at Nick, "_Anything_,"

she reiterated, "To make sure Greg is ok."

"I'm sorry Phoebe…" Nick tried.

"Its ok… I just need a minute," she said, glancing down at her watch, before she turned and left the room.

Everyone watched her go, Nick was about to follow when Catherine stopped him, "Just give her a few minutes,

she'll come back," she assured him.

He just nodded, before they all turned back, continuing to go over what they had.

.

About half an hour had passed since Phoebe had left the meeting. Nick had waited for her to return but when

she hadn't he went looking for her. After searching the lab, including the rest rooms, he tried calling her. It

rang and rang until the answer phone kicked in. He frowned to himself, heading back into the evidence room,

where Grissom and Catherine were talking.

"Have you guys seen Phoebe?" he asked them.

"Not since she walked out of here… why?" Catherine asked.

"I can't find her anywhere… and she isn't answering her phone," he told them.

"Well… she can't have gone far," Grissom reasoned.

"I don't know… something's not right," Nick said.

"You don't think she knows more then she's telling us?" Catherine spoke up.

"Merkoff told her to come alone, or he'd kill Greg… and you heard what she said, she'd do anything to get him

back…" Nick reminded them, "I think we need to ask someone else where he proposed."

"We could ask her mother?" Grissom suggested.

Nick pulled his phone out, "No… I know who to ask."

He found the number and hit the call button, after a few rings he heard a sleepy voice answer, "Hello?"

"Ashlee, this is Nick," he said.

"Nick… why are you calling me in the middle of the night?" she asked, before quickly adding, "Is Phoebe ok?"

"I'm not sure… listen Ashlee I need your help," he began, before quickly filling her in on the situation. "He told

her to meet him alone… where he proposed to her, do you know where that was?"

"It was in Vegas," she said.

"God dammit?" Nick cursed, he looked across at Catherine and Grissom, "She lied, he proposed here in Vegas."

He turned back to the phone, "She told us it was in Chicago," he explained to her.

"Why would she lie…unless, she's gone on her own…" Ashlee realised.

"I need to know exactly where he proposed," Nick said.

"I don't know the name of it," she told him, "Phoebe said it was some theme park… they'd got lost and ended

up there by accident. It was somewhere out near the dessert… I remember she said it was in the middle of no

where, and kinda old… she never said a name, I'm sorry."

"No… that helps," he assured her.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure… Ashlee I have to go, but I promise I'll let you know when we find her," he assured her.

"Thank you… and Nick, please, just make sure they're both ok."

"I'll try," he promised.

.

"I knew it!" Nick exclaimed, looking up from the computer screen, "There's a place in Dessert Falls, Cowboy

Park, it matches Ashlee's description, and it falls within the area Archie traced the cell phone," Nick told the

others.

"You still haven't heard from Phoebe?" Sara asked.

He shook his head, "No… but I just checked… my car is gone, as well as my gun."

"Well at least she didn't go unarmed," Catherine said.

"How much of a head start does she have?" Warrick asked.

"About 45 minutes… and it will take at least 30 to drive out there," Nick informed them.

"Well, what are we waiting for, lets go," Sara said, as they all hurried to get out the room and on the road.

Nick gave his watch a quick glance 2.35, he just prayed they could get there in time.

.

As Phoebe neared the park she glanced at her watch, she still had 20 minutes. She felt bad for lying, and

stealing Nick's car and gun, but she couldn't risk Chris carrying through with his threat. She had to go alone,

and knew the others would never have agreed.

She pulled the car into the turning for the park and turned the lights off, slowly driving towards the gates. As

she reached the gates she saw another car, and guessed they must already be here. She cut the engine and

reached for the gun, checking the safety was on before hiding it at her back in her jeans. She may have

listened to him about coming alone, but she wasn't going to be unarmed, she'd fallen for that last time.

As she walked past the car she noticed it was an old Ford escort, confirming to her that Chris was definitely

here.

The gate was already open, and she crept through the gap, trying to be as quiet as she could. Taking a deep

breath, in an attempt to steady her pounding heart she headed into the park.

.

Chris dragged Greg by the arm through the park. "Where are we going?" he found himself asking, trying to

distract from the pain in his arm.

"Be quiet," Chris hissed, pulling him up some steps to what looked like a saloon style bar. As he pushed

through the doors he threw Greg down on the floor, causing him to cry out in pain.

Chris ignored him, and began looking around. Greg wriggled round to lie on his side, trying to watch what

Chris was doing. He was trying to formulate a plan, but he had no idea what Phoebe would do… and if she'd

managed to somehow get away from the others and come alone. He couldn't let her go with Chris, no matter

what happened.

Chris stopped looking around and turned back to Greg, "She'll be here soon… so I think I need to make you

look a little more… pathetic."

Greg flinched as Chris grabbed him by the neck, before his fist made contact with his face. He tried his hardest

not to make a sound, but couldn't help as a few cries escaped his lips.

After a few blows Chris stopped, pulling back to look at his handy work, dropping Greg back to the floor. He

gave him one last kick to the abdomen, before stopping, obviously satisfied Greg looked bloody enough. He

leaned down, talking directly into Greg's ear, "You try anything stupid, and I'll kill her," he threatened, before

standing up. He straightened himself out, heading over to the counter on the far side of the room, before he

disappeared out of site.

Greg took a moment trying to catch his breath, before slowly turning himself to face to door. All he could do

now was wait.

.

Phoebe crept as quietly as she could throughout the park, trying to find the bar. She'd only ever been here

once, and couldn't remember exactly where she was going.

She felt like she'd been walking around for ages when in reality it had probably only been 5 minutes.

She turned a corner and stopped, finally spotting the place. She hurried over, trying to make as little noise as

possible. She got to the steps and took them gently, one at a time. The doors creaked as she pushed them

open, and she slowly stepped into the room. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the dim moonlight

pouring through the windows.

It didn't take long for her to spot Greg, and as his eyes met hers she gave up on trying to be quiet, and

gasped before rushing to his side.

* * *

So there it is, hope you guys enjoyed it, and please review! Thank you.


	17. Chapter 17

So here it is... I'm a little disappointed I didn't get any reviews for my last chapter, so hoping you guys are still enjoying it.  
Also... this is the final chapter! So please read and I hope the ending satisfies you all.

* * *

Chapter 17

_The doors creaked as she pushed them open, and she slowly stepped into the room. It took a few seconds for her_

eyes to adjust to the dim moonlight pouring through the windows.

It didn't take long for her to spot Greg, and as his eyes met hers she gave up on trying to be quiet, and gasped

before rushing to his side

.

"Greg," she said, in a hushed voice, falling down to her knees beside him.

"Phoebe," he replied softly, "You have to go."

She reached a hand to stroke his hair, "I'm not going anywhere," she told him.

"Phoebe, please," he pleaded, his voice breaking.

"Sshh," she hushed him, "Its gonna be ok". She ran her hands over him, looking for injuries. One of his arms

felt broken, so she gently reached round, trying to undo the ties round his wrists, as she did, she leaned over

him, placing a light kiss on his lips before whispering in his ear, knowing Chris must be nearby.

"Take the gun, jeans waistband," she said so quietly he just about heard her.

She looked and him, and their eyes met briefly before she heard a voice.

"I don't think you should do that," and looked up to see Chris, walking round from behind the counter.

She quickly stood, putting herself between Chris and Greg. "I'm here alone Chris, just like you said."

He walked toward her, and in the dim light she could see him smiling, "I knew you'd come."

"What do you want?" she asked, trying to keep his attention on her, and away from Greg.

He stopped, standing right in front of her, "I told you Phoebe, I want you," he said, reaching a hand up to run

gently over her cheek.

She turned her face away from him, but stood her ground, "That's not gonna happen."

"If you don't come with me, I'll kill him," he said coldly, pulling his gun out from his waistband, pointing it round

her toward Greg.

Phoebe stepped sideways, placing herself in front of the gun, "You'll have to kill me first," she managed to

sound a lot braver then she felt.

She could see as anger flared in his eyes for a moment, and she heard Greg's voice, "Phoebe don't," he

pleaded.

"Shut up!" Chris shouted, and she didn't know if he was talking to her or Greg.

She reached a hand up to his face, cringing inwardly as she did so, "I don't love you anymore Chris," she

whispered, leaning into him.

He grabbed her roughly by the arms, "I don't care," he sneered, "You're coming with me!"

After a second of hesitation, hoping she was doing to do the right thing, she brought her knee up swiftly

between his legs, catching him by surprise. He keeled over, and she kicked out, knocking the gun from his

hand.

She quickly dropped back down beside Greg. He'd been trying to untie the rope but hadn't managed. She

carried on, scrambling with the knot, causing her nails to bleed.

"Phoebe, look out!" Greg called.

She spun round, as Chris dived at her, knocking her to the floor. He threw a punch, but she put her hands up to

her face, blocking it.

Greg watched helplessly as Phoebe fought Chris, desperately trying to get his arms free. He could feel as the

bones in his broken arm crunched together, causing him agony, but he ignored it.

Chris was on top of her pulling her hair, she could feel her gun still pressed in her back, and could see Chris's

gun all the way across the other side of the room.

She reached a hand up to his face, scratching her nails down his neck, gouging at his skin. The last time they

had fought he'd beaten her, but this time she was putting up a fight.

They rolled again so she was leaning over him; she hit him as hard as she could in the stomach. He groaned

out, but reached his hands up, grappling with her, trying to get his hands around her neck.

But then she felt an arm round her waist, pulling her out Chris's reach. She rolled out the way, and felt as Greg

pulled her gun out from behind her, turning it on Chris. "Don't move," he threatened him.

Chris stopped moving, staring up at Greg, "You won't pull the trigger," he jeered.

"Just try me," Greg replied, keeping the gun pointed at him.

Phoebe slowly pulled herself up, trying to catch her breath. She looked across at Greg, his one arm hung limply

at his side, and he was hunched over slightly, but he stood his ground. She took the couple of steps towards

him, "Are you ok?" he asked her, keeping his eyes on Chris.

"I'm fine… are you ok," she said.

He turned to look at her, giving her a tired smile, "I'll be alright."

She went and collected Chris's gun from the floor, checking the safety before placing it in her waistband, then

returning to Greg. She held her hand out to take the gun from him, but he kept it aimed at Chris. "Its ok," she

told him, "besides I'm a better shot then you," she smiled.

He paused, "You're right," he agreed, handing her the gun. She leaned up to kiss him, "I missed you," she

whispered, as they broke apart.

He lifted his good arm, running a hand over her cheek, "I missed you too."

She smiled up at him, before turning to look back at Chris. He wasn't there, but trying to make it out the door.

She turned quickly, aiming the gun at him, "Don't even think about it!" she shouted at him. When he didn't stop

she fired one shot, narrowly missing him. He froze, "I won't miss next time," she promised him.

He turned to look at her, "You wouldn't shot me," he said, though the bravado he'd had before had gone.

She took a few steps closer to him, "You think after everything you've put me through I wont shot you?"

"Its not you Phoebe," he said. She faltered, for a moment he almost sounded like his old self, but it didn't last,

"You're too weak," he added.

She raised the gun, and saw him smile, " Go on then," he goaded her.

She could feel the gun in her hand, her finger on the trigger moved ever so slightly.

"Phoebe… don't do it… he's not worth it," she heard Greg behind her.

Her finger hovered on the trigger, "Come on Pheebs, what you waiting for?" Chris jeered.

Then she heard her name being called, not by Chris or Greg, but it was coming from outside. She took her

finger away from the trigger, relaxing slightly.

"We're in here," she called.

Within a few seconds the door flew open and Brass entered, followed by more officers. "You guys ok?" he

asked, looking from Phoebe to Greg.

"Yeah," Greg answered. Phoebe just nodded. Brass saw Phoebe still had her gun pointed at Chris, as he

grabbed him, "Merkoff, you're under arrest," he told him, cuffing him before pushing him toward one of the

other officers, "Get him out of here."

Phoebe only lowered the gun once he was gone, Brass reached out, gently taking it from her hand. She looked

up at him, "Phoebe?" he asked.

She reached round, taking the gun from her waistband, "I'm ok," she said quietly, as she handed him the other

gun.

She turned round to look at Greg. They shared a look before he reached out, wrapping his good arm around

her, pulling her close. She threw her arms round him, holding on tight. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair.

They remained like that for a while, before pulling apart. He looked down at her, "You should never have come

alone," he added, "But thank you," he finished, leaning down to kiss her.

She looked up at him once they broke apart,"I was so scared I might loose you," she said, pulling him close

again. He made an involuntary groan, she quickly pulled back, "Sorry… you need an ambulance."

He nodded, "You too."

They hadn't had to wait too long for an ambulance, and were now sat in the back. The paramedic was checking

Greg over.

"Phoebe?" she heard, and looked out the open doors to see Nick. She stepped out, before she had a chance to

say anything he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm ok Nick," she assured him.

He pulled back, looking in at Greg, "How is he?" he asked.

"He'll be ok," she told him.

He looked down at her, "I'm still mad at you."

"Nick, I'm sorry… I didn't want to lie to you… but I knew you wouldn't let me come alone," she replied.

"We could have worked something out… you could have got yourself killed, or Greg" he scolded her.

"I'm sorry… but we're both ok… "

Nick looked at her, before sighing, "Just promise me you'll never do something that stupid again."

She gave him a small smile, "I promise."

He nodded, "You better call Ashlee," he told her.

"Ok," she said, pulling her phone from her pocket. It was smashed, obviously having not survived the fight.

"Here," Nick said, handing her his phone.

"Thanks," she smiled, taking the phone from him. She quickly dialled the number, and Ashlee answered almost

instantly.

"Nick! Did you find them?"

"Hey Ash…" Phoebe spoke.

"Phoebe? Thank god… are you ok? Is Greg ok?" she asked quickly.

"We'll be fine," Phoebe assured her.

"What happened? Why didn't you tell them the truth?" Ashlee rushed.

"I'm sorry I worried you… did you tell anyone else?" Phoebe questioned.

"No… though if you hadn't called when you did I don't think I could have waited much longer."

"Thank you," Phoebe said, "Listen Ash, I'm really tired and I need to go the hospital with Greg… can I call you

later?"

"Sure, just don't do anything else stupid," Ashlee told her.

Phoebe smiled, "I won't, l gotta go, love you," she told her friend.

"Love you too Pheebs, talk to you later."

.

Once at the hospital Greg had been rushed off, while the doctors checked Phoebe over. She had wanted to

stay by his side but the doctors had practically dragged her away, insisting she needed to be checked over.

She had managed to escape with nothing more then a few cuts and bruises, and after a few stitches was

allowed back to see Greg.

He hadn't been quite so lucky, his arm had been broken in two places, and they'd had to sedate him before

they could manipulate the bones back into place before casting it.

When Phoebe found him he was still out of it, and had a number of stitches to his face. She imagined how Greg

must have felt when he'd first seen her after Chris had attacked her.

She was exhausted, and slumped down in the chair beside his bed, taking his hand. She felt him gently

squeeze her hand and looked up to see his eyes were now open. "Hey," she smiled at him.

"Hey," he responded drowsily.

"How you feeling?" she asked.

"Tired… but ok I guess… how about you?"

"The same, I feel like I could sleep for a week," she admitted.

He tried to shuffle over in the bed, "Greg, what you doing?" she asked, standing up, trying to settle him.

"Making room for you," he told her.

She smiled, "Greg… I can't get in there…" she began.

"Phoebe… I thought I'd never see you again… just lay with me," he said, struggling to stay awake.

She hesitated for a second before kicking off her shoes and squeezing into the bed beside him. She lay on her

side, an arm across his chest and within minutes they were both fast asleep.

When she woke up it took a second to realise where she was. A quick glance around the room and she soon

remembered. She looked across at Greg and saw him smile at her.

"Hey… how long you been awake?" she asked, trying to sit up a little.

"Not long," he replied. He sounded a lot more awake then he had the last time he'd spoken to her.

She looked up at the clock on the wall; it was 2 o'clock, which she assumed must be in the afternoon, and not

the following morning.

"I don't remember you getting into bed with me," he told her, "Not that I'm complaining," he added with a

smile.

She smiled back, "You were pretty drowsy," she replied. She paused for a moment, both just staring at each

other. After a minute she spoke, "Greg… I'm sorry you got kidnapped by my crazy ex."

"Its not your fault," he told her.

"I know… but if it wasn't for me he would never have kidnapped you, and…"

"Phoebe," Greg stopped her, bringing his good hand to her face, "Please don't blame yourself."

She nodded, "Ok."

"Good," he smiled, "There's something I want to say… now we're face to face," he began.

"Go on…" she prompted.

"Phoebe Jones… I love you."

She broke out into a grin, "I love you too Greg Sanders."

* * *

So, that's it. Please review, let me know what you thought of the story. I'm kinda sad its come to an end, and I love writing Phoebe and Greg moments, so trying to think of a new story, maybe set a bit more up to date. So any idea's for any follow up stories throw them my way.  
Thanks so much for reading and all the interest in this story, I've really appreciated it.


End file.
